A Twist in Time
by harrypotterlover317
Summary: Annabeth goes back in time and befriends a young Tom Riddle. Will their friendship keep Tom from going into the Dark?
1. Prolouge

**Hey guys! I've changed chapter 1, so please read this before moving on. I've added more about Annabeth and why she feels the way she feels. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, etc. etc. etc. You know I don't, or else I'd actually publish my story as a book, so I won't bother with a disclaimer in each chapter.**

Annabeth sat there in class, staring at him. Brandon. He was so perfect, so smart, so clever, so funny. However, there was one problem. Brandon hated her. He knew that Annabeth liked her, and hated her for it. Annabeth was still listening to Brandon's conversation with David, wating to see if she could try to talk to him.

"... I was in both band and orchestra at some point. I played trumpet in 5th grade." Annabeth knew that. Brandon had told her that the last time they were in a math group together. She was surprised that he had once been in orchestra though. Here was Annabeth's entry into the conversation, she thought excitedly! She was in orchestra, so she had a reason to be interested in the fact that Brandon was once in orchestra.

"When were you in orchestra?" Annabeth asked.

"Shut up! I wasn't talking to you!" Brandon replied sharply.

Annabeth turned away, a hurt look on her face, but not before she caught David's eye. He gave her an "_I'm so sorry"_ look. Annabeth sighed. She should've been used to this. She knew that he hated her, just like most of her crushes did once they realized that she liked them. She didn't know why, though, and that's what bugged her the most. What was it about her that ticked Brandon off? Her parents always told her that she was beautiful and special, but she had yet to see proof from outsiders. She had friends, but a group of friends never lasted for too long, so she didn't really have anyone that she could claim was her "best friend". When she left class, Jennifer and Alice cornered her.

"Why were you flirting with our crushes?" they asked.

"What?" Annabeth was astounded. She had been having normal conversations with Adam and Aaron about math. She knew Adam since 6th grade, and Aaron was simply nice to her. She was in no way trying to flirt with them. _If I could flirt, I'd be trying to flirt with Brandon_, Annabeth thought bitterly.

"I wasn't flirting. Honestly," Annabeth pleaded.

"Well, you kept talking to them and following them around wherever they went."

"That's because I can have an intelligible conversation with them, and you guys weren't exactly talking to me," replied Annabeth. It was true. Whenever Annabeth tried to talk to Jennifer and Alice, they started talking in Spanish, which Annabeth didn't understand.

"Well, just don't talk to them as much," they said.

"Okay," said Annabeth. Then, Jennifer and Alice left. They didn't stop to say anything to Annabeth. She was practically in tears. Her crush rebuked her and her friends had practically ended their friendship with her. She knew that that must be why the rest of their group was ignoring her. _I should've seen it coming_, Annabeth thought, trying to fight back tears. There was only one thing that would make her feel better. She took out "**Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince**".

Annabeth sat there, reflecting over **Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince**. She had finished the book, and kept thinking about it - to be more specific, she was thinking about Tom Riddle's past.

"Wow, no wonder he became evil. He grew up in an orphanage where pretty much everyone mistreated him and didn't care about him, and they punished him for his magic, which wasn't his fault, and it's cool, not evil. So when he learned how to control his magic, of course he gets revenge, it's what I'd do! While I don't agree with everything he did, I can see his point. I just don't get why he'd want to be immortal, but I guess he believed that he was special enough for that. I also don't understand why he hates muggleborns, because they understand about magic. Everyone needs a friend, though. I wish that I could've been his friend at the orphanage. I would've been supportive." Annabeth knew all too well what it was like to be resented. She wasn't popular, and her friendships never worked out for too long. Even though she had parents and friends to tell her that she was special, she sometimes hated the whole world, and would be happy to make them realize her pain, because everyone who was close to her had hurt her in one way or another. Sometimes, she realized with wonder, she felt that Tom Riddle was right. The people who hurt her should at least feel the intense pain that she felt. They never understood what they did to her, and never cared. She knew that that was evil thinking, but she couldn't help it. And besides, other people couldn't judge her until they understood her. She'd taken the "Which Hogwarts House do you Belong In?" quiz on Facebook, and ended up in Slytherin. "Well, maybe there's a reason why I'm apparently a Slytherin."

Annabeth went to sleep with these thoughts in her mind. The last thing she thought was "I wish that I could be there for Tom Riddle," before she fell asleep.

The next morning, she woke up in a dingy, gray room.


	2. Chapter 1

**Thank you LiveLoveWrite-93 for reviewing. I'll probably be de-aging Annabeth's body and mind to 6-years-old for this fanfic (sorry!) but I'll try to use your idea for another fanfic!**

Tom Riddle sat there in math class, studying. Class was yet to start, and the other kids were talking and fooling around. Tom didn't join them, though. They wanted nothing to do with him, the quiet freak, the loner. _Well, I want nothing to do with them either_, he thought. He was smarter than them, he knew. He taught himself how to do multiplication this year, while the other six-year-olds could barely do simple addition. He also knew about the sciences. He knew basic astronomy, knew about several animals' life cycles, knew about plate tectonics and its effects, basic science like that. He knew, however, that the other childrens' minds were too petty to comprehend knowledge. _Just proof that I'm better than them, that I don't need them, don't need anybody_, Tom thought. Tom was reading about the rules of exponents when the door opened.

The math teacher came in, followed by a little girl their age. She had short, thick, raven-black hair, olive skin, and dark, brown-black eyes. She also had glasses. She looked around nervously, as if she had no idea why she was here. _Another new one_, Tom thought condensingly. Here was another foolish child who would probably annoy him to death.

"This is Annabeth. She will be staying with us," said the math teacher curtly. Annabeth took a seat at one of the half-broken, worn-out desks. She looked around, noticing people staring at her curiously, and the her eyes rested on Tom. She gave him a look that he couldn't decipher, then looked down at his book and smiled, and turned around to face the front.

"Okay class, we were working on higher-level addition. Can anyone tell me what is 11 + 4?" While the rest of the class started counting on their fingers, Tom raised his hand high in the air. He was surprised to find the new girl's hand in the air as well. _Well, maybe she isn't a complete idiot. _Tom thought.

"Yes, Annabeth?" the math teacher seemed surprised as he called on her.

"15," Annabeth replied quickly.

As the lesson progressed, it seemed that Annabeth was pretty good at math. She could count by 2's, 3's, 4's, and 5's easily and fluently. To trip her up, the math teacher asked her to count by 9's, to try to silence her. Tom figured that he hated smart kids, since they made him look stupid for teaching easy concepts. He looked at Annabeth interestedly. He wanted to see what she would do.

" 9,18, 27,...36,..45,...54,...63,...72,...81,...90!" Annabeth beamed. She had paused after the bigger numbers, but she had managed it. The math teacher didn't bother her after that. Tom realized that she was at least somewhat intelligent. He was wondering whether he should talk to her or not. After all, the other kids at the orphanage hated him. He hated them too, of course, but he wondered whether Annabeth would hate him too, simply because others did. If that was the case, then she was just a petty girl who followed crowds. It couldn't hurt to at least _try_ to talk to her once. He had decided this and started to make his way to her at the end of class, when she came towards him and held her hand out.

"Hello, I'm Annabeth. What's your name?"

**A. N. :For those of you who have doubts, Tom and Annabeth are both six. Tom can't do magic yet, so others just make fun of him because he likes studying and gaining knowledge. What do you think so far? Please review!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Here's the third chapter guys! I've had this story in mind for about two years before I finally went and created an account, so I'll be updating pretty often, especially in the beginning (no more than two to three days in between each chapter), but please review! I need you guy's support to know that I'm not just spouting a lot of junk, since this is my first fanfic. Thanks!**

Annabeth looked around and saw that most of the kids seemed rowdy. She would just be happy to sit there quietly and read, or maybe even study. She didn't particularly love studying, but her dad had her do math beyond her grade level, and she found that she was good at it. She didn't really study other subjects on her own outside of school, but she still got 96th-99th precentile on the state tests she would take, and while she didn't know what that meant, she knew that it was good. Annabeth was glad that math was first, because math was her favorite subject. As she was looking around the room, her eyes rested on a boy with dark brown hair, stormy gray eyes, and a pale face, which seemed to be marked with a couple of bruises. She noticed the book in his hands, though, and smiled, glad to know that she wasn't the only studious kid around here. At her old school, she had been the smartest person, and while she liked that, she sometimes wished for competition. She turned around, not wanting to be caught for staring. She pondered over that boy, though. _"Why does he have bruises on his face?"_ Annabeth wondered silently. _"He seems like a nice, quiet boy, and he doesn't seem like he goes around picking fights with people. Do people go around picking on him because he's studious? I'll have to be careful around here. I have no idea how I got here, it doesn't look like anywhere in Ohio, and it doesn't seem like a nice place. Oh, I miss home!"_

Math class was really easy for Annabeth. She answered all of the questions correctly, even the hard ones that the teacher obviously threw at her to trick her._"Ha! I feel smart!"_ Annabeth thought. She noticed that the teacher had a weird accent. Now that she thought about it, so did all of the other kids when they talked. _"Hmmm..." _Annabeth thought. At the end of class, she decided that she wanted to talk to the quiet, dark-haired boy. She figured that he would be the best person to try to befriend, since he wouldn't make fun of her for being studious like the others could. At the end of class, she went up to him and held out her hand.

"Hi! I'm Annabeth!" she said, and smiled. The boy took her hand and shook it, but his face showed no hint of a smile. If anything, his face had a calculating look on it.

"I'm Tom Riddle," the boy replied. _"Why is he all doom and gloom?"_ Annabeth wondered. She decided to say something to break the silence, since she was a loud and talkative girl who didn't like silence.

"So, the math class was pretty easy, wasn't it?" She asked.

"Yes, it was," Tom replied. "I already knew everything that we're learning since last year. I haven't learned anything in this class this year. I've taught myself more than the teachers have," he said smugly.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. My dad taught me math beyond my grade level, and it was pretty easy to get the hang of it. I've also done some extra reading on other random things, like life cycles of butterflies and the like, volcanoes and why they happen, you know, that kind of stuff."

"You know, I haven't seen you around before. You also have a strange accent! Where are you from? How did you get here?" Tom asked. Annabeth wasn't sure, but his voice seemed to have a demanding edge to it.

"You could've asked that in a bit of a nice tone, you know," Annabeth replied. "Demanding it like that makes me not want to tell you. And besides, I don't have a strange accent; you do."

"Sorry," Tom replied politely. "I was just really curious that you ended up here and I didn't even notice. And I beg to differ about the fact that I have a 'weird accent'."

"It's okay," Annabeth said cheerfully. She then became a little bit serious."Honestly, I don't know how I ended up here. I fell asleep in my own bed last night at home, and this morning, I woke up to find myself in one of the rooms with three other girls. I want to go home, because I'm pretty sure that I'm not an orphan, but I don't know where home is. Oh no! What if I really am... No! But that still wouldn't explain how I ended up here. I don't even know this place. I've never seen it in my city."

"Where are you from?" Tom asked.

"Mayfield," Annabeth replied.

"Where's Mayfield? I've never heard of it."

"It's a city in Ohio," Annabeth said.

"Ohio?" Tom asked. _Wow, did this boy not know his states? _Annabeth thought.

"Hah! You're kidding! Okay, I'll go along with it. It's a state in the United States of America! And most normal people in the United States have accents like mine, so there!"

"What?" Tom practically yelled out of surprise.


	4. Chapter 3

**I'll be switching the point of view every chapter, so for those who want Tom's perspective, well, it'll be there every other chapter. Some chapters might repeat part of the events in the last chapter, but from the other person's point of view. I'll try to actually make progress with each chapter, though. By the way, the italics represent the person's thoughts, so I won't always say "he thought" or "she thought".**

Tom was curious. While Annabeth was talking, he noticed her strange accent, and figured out that she wasn't around here. He had never heard an accent like hers, so he wasn't sure exactly where she was from. He figured that she must be from a neighboring country. She must be Spanish, he thought, with her skin color and hair. Or maybe she's from a totally different and far-off country, but her family lived somewhere else, like in France. But then, how did she end up here? He decided to ask. It couldn't hurt, and she seemed nice enough, nicer than the kids at the orphanage.

"You know, I haven't seen you around before. You also have a strange accent! Where are you from? How did you get here?" Tom asked.

"You could've asked that in a bit of a nice tone, you know," Annabeth replied. "Demanding it like that makes me not want to tell you. And besides, I don't have a strange accent; you do." Annabeth sounded offended. Did he sound rude and demanding? He wouldn't know. _It's not like I actually talk to other people_, he thought bitterly. _They think I'm too freakish. She's being nice to me, so it wouldn't do to offend her_.

"Sorry," Tom replied politely. "I was just really curious that you ended up here and I didn't even notice. And I beg to differ about the fact that I have a 'weird accent'."

"It's okay," Annabeth said cheerfully. She then became a little bit serious. Tom wasn't surprised. _She seems lost_, he thought."Honestly, I don't know how I ended up here. I fell asleep in my own bed last night at home, and this morning, I woke up to find myself in one of the rooms with three other girls. I want to go home, because I'm pretty sure that I'm not an orphan, but I don't know where home is. Oh no! What if I really am... No! But that still wouldn't explain how I ended up here. I don't even know this place. I've never seen it in my city." What? How could that happen? _She must be joking_. _It's the only logical explanation. But she seems like a straight-forward, honest person. I doubt that she would joke about losing her family, and she really seems to miss them. She's confused. I'll ask her where she's from._

"Where are you from?" Tom asked.

"Mayfield," Annabeth replied. It sounded so... strange in a common way. He had never heard of it, and it didn't sound horribly foreign like cities from other countries did.

"Where's Mayfield? I've never heard of it."

"It's a city in Ohio," Annabeth said. Okay, he knew the states of surrounding countries a bit better, and he knew that there wasn't a place called Ohio in Britain, and once again, it didn't sound foreign like French, Spanish, or German cities might.

"Ohio?" Tom asked. He saw a look of disbelief cross her face, as if she couldn't believe that he wouldn't know where Ohio was.

"Hah! You're kidding! Okay, I'll go along with it. It's a state in the United States of America! And most normal people in the United States have accents like mine, so there!" What? She was from the United States? How did she end up here? Surely, she would've remembered if she and family had come to Britain for vacation, wouldn't she?

"What?" Tom practically yelled."Well, that explains your accent."

"My accent? You guys are the ones with strange accents! You guys sound like those prim, proper, uptight British!" _Was this girl so foolish? Did she not realize that she was in Britain? But then again, I'm sure that she couldn't imagine that she randomly ended up across the Atlantic Ocean, so I shouldn't be hard on her. I'd think that I was crazy if I were in her place, so I can understand how she feels_.

"You are in Britain! And get your science stuff out, science is about to start. Though this class is a bit of a joke. All of them are."

"You're joking!" Annabeth whispered.

"I know how hard it is for you to believe this, but you must. Ask the teacher if you don't believe me."

Annabeth asked the teacher, who was the same as the math teacher, and would be the same for all other subjects, what country was next to us.

"But surely you must know that Great Britain is an island! Or are you not smart enough to know that?" he sneered. Tom saw Annabeth's eyes widen in shock, but she tried to hide it. The teacher didn't notice anything strange, though, and continued on with all of the lessons and classes for the day. When they were done, Annabeth went up to Tom.

"How could this have happened? It's impossible! Not unless my parents flew to Britain and left me at a random orphanage, but I don't see why they would! I don't _think_ we have money problems, and we were going to Nepal this winter, and my parents bought my ticket too and everything! I saw the ticket with my name on it! They wouldn't have done that if they planned on abandoning me?"

"Well, I'm sorry, I can't say," Tom said. "You seem to have appeared out of nowhere, and you'll have to get used to living here. Maybe you might end up back home the same way; you might fall asleep and wake up at home." Could it have been magic? _Nah_, Tom decided. And besides, why would she of all people end up here? She didn't seem to deserve such punishment. "It's time for lunch, so I suppose you'll want to talk to some of the other kids, try to make friends?" For some reason, Tom hoped that she wouldn't. She was the closest thing to an intelligent person, and while he was yet to see if she was like other girls, he wanted to at least get to know her. It was possible that she wasn't. Before she could reply, though, they were shoved hard to the ground.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here," two greasy, grimy, older-looking kids replied. Tom knew them. They were Billy and his friend Adam. They were two bullies who just loved troubling Tom, pushing him around and beating him up. While they were the same age as him, they were bigger in size, and two against one were never good odds for the one. Tom looked to his left and saw Annabeth's eyes widen.

"Why did you push us? We didn't do anything to you! If you push others around, that must mean that you want to be pushed around. That must be the way you want to be treated!" Billy leaned in and punched Annabeth in the nose hard. Blood started spurting out. Annabeth tried to hold back a yelp but failed.

"OWW!" She yelled. Tom was angry. Not only did they bully him around, they've started bullying Annabeth around? So now anyone who wants to be around me has to suffer at the bullies' hands? He admired Annabeth's courage, but supposed that she had never come across bullies. No one who knew what the bullies could do ever stood up to them. He didn't get much time to think of all of this, though, when Adam started punching Tom while Billy was beating up Annabeth.

"We is your betters, little girl. It would do you good to respect us. And you shouldn't hang out with the little freak over there." Billy indicated with his head toward Tom. "If you know what's good for you."

"Why do you care so much? It shouldn't matter to you who I hang out with. You don't even know me. Unless... you love me. That's the only reason it should matter to you." Tom realized by the huge breath Billy took that Annabeth had just provoked him. He tried to look at her and caught a glimpse of Annabeth trying to claw Billy with her fingernails.

"What you lookin at boy?" Adam asked. Adam looked over there for a second and Tom used the distraction to bite on Adam's hand. Hard. Adam yelped, and Tom got up. He saw Billy beating up Annabeth ferociously. He was suddenly overcome with anger. These bullies were picking on him for no reason, and he couldn't fight back, which was enough. To top things off, they were picking on Annabeth. She didn't know how to handle it. She'd never had to suffer like this, and now was for being kind to him.

"They'll pay," Tom hissed. He glared at Adam and Billy, and just when he was about to try to attack them with his hands, there was a huge boom. Billy and Adam flew back in the air and landed very hard on their backs.

"Billy, let's get away from them. They're not worth the trouble, and who knows what else the little freak can do!" Adam yelled, scared. Billy nodded, and they ran off. Tom stood there in wonder. A voice broke him from his trance.

"Tom? What did you just do?"

Meanwhile, somewhere that no one knows about, Fate sat there, writing in his book. He noticed how Tom saved himself and Annabeth from the bullies. "I knew that de-aging Annabeth to 6-years-old, wiping her memories of her life beyond 6, sending her back in time, and putting her in Tom Marvolo Riddle's orphanage was a good idea. They'll become friends now. And if things work out the way I want them to, then Tom Riddle will make a better soul mate for Annabeth than one she could've gotten in her time."

**A.N. Since Tom is just six, and Annabeth showed up before he first did magic, this was my take on Tom's first time doing magic. What do you think?**


	5. Chapter 4

When Billy was attacking Annabeth, it was hard for her to fight back. This was the first time someone was bullying her, and she was doing her best to attack back. She tried clawing Billy since her nails were reasonably sharp, but her nails barely made a scratch in Billy's skin, and he was punching Annabeth with all of his might. She was wondering how Tom was doing. _Does he have to deal with this stuff a lot? Poor Tom_, Annabeth thought sympathetically. Then, she heard a yelp, and the other bully jumped off of Tom, clasping his hand. She saw Tom glance in her direction, and then he glared at the bullies. _If looks could kill, they'd be dead, _Annabeth thought. Then, both bullies were thrown back. They flew in the air and landed painfully on their backs. Annabeth thought she heard something break. She looked over at Tom, but he was still in the same position. He didn't seem to have moved at all.

"Billy, let's get away from them. They're not worth the trouble, and who knows what else the little freak can do!" Adam yelled, scared. Billy nodded, and they ran off. Annabeth was amazed. Tom had just saved himself and Annabeth from the bullies without lifting a finger. _That was so cool! The bullies deserved it for picking on us for no reason! But how did Tom do that? I don't think I could._

"Tom? What did you just do?" Annabeth asked in wonder. Tom, however, seemed to have mistaken her wonder for an accusation.

"I don't know. Honestly. I was mad at the bullies for picking on us, and I wanted them to stop. Then, they just flew back. I've never done anything like this before!"

"Tom, I'm amazed. That was wonderful! That will teach them not to pick on us! Is this seriously your first time doing something like this?" Annabeth asked.

"Yes, I just said so," Tom said, somewhat annoyed.

"That was like magic," Annabeth said. "And because we don't know what happened, let's just call it magic."

"Wow! I can do magic," Tom said. They walked back to their rooms, their scant amount of watery soup spilled by the bullies. They had finished the few spoons of soup left in seconds. Annabeth's stomach rumbled. Tom might've been used to such meager meals, but Annabeth wasn't. She was used to three big meals and an afternoon snack with milk. _Living here is harder than I thought. I'm so hungry._

"Looks like someone is hungry," Tom said lightly.

"I'm not used to food like this," Annabeth said. She hated it. Her mother always told her that she would suffer for her picky eating habits, but she never thought it'd be like this."My mother told me not to be a picky eater, but I never thought that I'd have to get rid of my habits like this," Annabeth said. "I feel so sorry for all the kids here. I miss my mother's cooking"

"I've never had my mother's food," Tom said quietly.

"I'm so sorry Tom. How could I be so... so...mean about this? I shouldn't complain."

"It's okay, Annabeth," Tom replied. "It's hard at first. But if you ignore your hunger for a while, it'll go away." As they were walking, though, they were stopped by a shrill voice.

"TOM! ANNABETH!" yelled Mrs. Cole as she caught up to them. Tom and Annabeth turned around. Tom had an impassive look on his face, while Annabeth looked scared.

"What did we do, ma'am?" Annabeth asked fearfully.

"Billy and Adam told me that Tom knocked them over. They said that you did something strange. They were talking to you, and you sent them flying in the air and then made them fall just by looking at them. Is that true Tom? Did you do that Tom? They have broken bones. Did you bully them?" Annabeth could see Tom trying to control his anger.

"Mrs. Cole, they were bullying us," Tom gritted. "Annabeth and I were walking to lunch, and Billy and Adam knocked us over. They started pushing us around, and-"

"Nonsense! Why would they bully you for no reason?" Mrs. Cole asked incredulously.

"Beats me, why would you think that we would attack them without reason?" Tom bit back.

"Don't give me any of your cheek, boy! You attacked them, didn't you! No dinner and breakfast for you!" Annabeth couldn't believe it. This was unfair. Mrs. Cole didn't even listen to them. Now Tom was suffering because of her. Yes, he also saved himself, but he saved her too. Adam had let go of Tom when he bit him. Tom could've run then, but he did save her as well, no matter what his motives were. Annabeth couldn't let him suffer like this. She knew what she'd do.

"Ma'am, don't yell at Tom. It was my fault. Tom is right, they were picking on us. I wanted to be friends with them, since I was new-" Annabeth threw that in there to, hopefully, gain some pity from Mrs. Cole and make the story more believable. "-but they started being mean to me and Tom. I got mad and attacked them. I pushed them to the ground. They probably just exaggerated and said that they were thrown to the ground because they were probably mad at being beat by a girl," Annabeth finished.

"Be that as it may, you should have come to an adult if something like that happened. Tom, I'm sorry. It seems as if your little friend is at fault. No dinner and breakfast for you, little girl!" Mrs. Cole said, and walked off to tell the cooks that. Tom looked at her in wonder.

"Why did you just do that? I'm used to little meals, and I've had my meals taken away many times, but it'll be hard for you. Weren't you just saying before how hungry you were?"

"I couldn't let you take the blame, Tom. You saved me from the bullies," Annabeth replied quietly.

"But I also saved myself. I wanted to save you too, but it was more out of my immediate anger at the bullies." Annabeth was a little disappointed at hearing that. _It makes sense, though. Before this, if Tom was bullied by a bully, I wouldn't have tried to step in, so why should he do that for me?_

"It doesn't matter. You still saved me, and I didn't want you to be punished for that. Then you wouldn't ever save me again," Annabeth joked. "I owed you that. But can I hang out with you? From what I've seen in our classes today, you're smart." She prevented herself from saying 'really really smart'. "I might learn a thing or two from you, and you'll be better company than the girls in my room, since I can have an smart conversation with you. Also, it'll keep my mind off the hunger." Annabeth looked at Tom eagerly. Tom considered this.

"Alright." Annabeth was thrilled.


	6. Chapter 5

Tom couldn't believe it when Annabeth lied straight to Mrs. Cole's face and took the blame on herself. He had seen people lie to get themselves out of trouble, but this was the first time that he was seeing someone lie to get a friend out of trouble. _So I'm her friend? I guess. I mean, there are some things that you just can't share without ending up liking each other, and I guess this was one of them. We helped each other too, so I guess it makes sense_. _Hmmm. Annabeth is my friend. _As much as he hated to admit it, he liked the sound of 'friend'. He noticed that Annabeth didn't seem too upset about having to skip two meals, which was surprising considering their earlier conversation.

"Why did you just do that? I'm used to little meals, and I've had my meals taken away many times, but it'll be hard for you. Weren't you just saying before how hungry you were?" Tom asked. He was curious about her reason.

"I couldn't let you take the blame, Tom. You saved me from the bullies," Annabeth replied quietly. Tom felt a little bit guilty. While he didn't want Annabeth to suffer at the hands of the bullies only because she had talked to him, the bigger reason was that he was just tired of the bullies bullying him. He couldn't stop himself from being honest.

"But I also saved myself. I wanted to save you too, but it was more out of my immediate anger at the bullies." Tom noticed a look of disappointment cross Annabeth's face, but it disappeared after a couple of seconds.

It doesn't matter. You still saved me, and I didn't want you to be punished for that. Then you wouldn't ever save me again," Annabeth joked. "I owed you that. But can I hang out with you? From what I've seen in our classes today, you're smart." She paused. "I might learn a thing or two from you, and you'll be better company than the girls in my room, since I can have an smart conversation with you. Also, it'll keep my mind off the hunger." Tom supposed that he could do that. He had wanted to get to know her, after all. He had wanted to see if she was like other girls, though he now doubted. If she was, he'd make her go away and go back to his routine, but if she wasn't, it would be different, a welcome change.

"Alright." He noticed the bright smile that crossed Annabeth's face. They hung out in Tom's room, which was currently empty. He decided to ask about her life before she arrived here.

"What was your life like before you came here?" Tom asked.

"I was born in India and lived there for three-and-a-half years," Annabeth started. Before she could continue, Tom interrupted.

"Do you remember what it was like there?" he asked. _Wow, a different country? On the East side of the world? Wow! _

"No, not really," Annabeth replied. "I do remember going to school in a van, in a uniform. I was going to visit India next year. But I have seen pictures of me when I was a baby. If I do say so myself, I was pretty cute as a baby." Tom could easily picture her as a bright, bouncy baby. _Annabeth just has so much energy, I'm sure she was even more lilke that as a baby_.

"I'm sure you were." Tom replied. He realized right away that that sounded strange.

"Huh?" Annabeth asked.

"I mean, all babies are cute." He said quickly. That was true, but their constant crying evened it out, and he hated hearing the babies crying. Especially since it was so hard for a person to figure out what was wrong.

"Yeah, that's true. I read my dad's journal where he wrote about me as a baby. I have to say, I had to laugh at some of the silly things that I did." It seemed that she had the maturity of the other kids. _I'm not surprised though. She grew up around her parents, who seem to be loving. If I grew up differently, I might be more playful. Oh well, no use thinking about what I can't change_.

"And what was school like?" Tom asked. He wanted to see what a normal life was like. Atleast, what a normal life where Annabeth lived was like.

"Well, I came...er...went to the U.S. when I was about three-and-a-half years old. I went to pre-school when I was four. It seemed like a lot of free time and play time. I painted pictures and played dress-up. We had a lot of circle time. I don't remember actually learning anything. At the library though, they had these headphones so you could listen along to books. The words were highlighted as the reader read along. I taught myself how to read, and I'm pretty proud of that. Dad said that they also helped me learn to read, but I don't remember my parents teaching me anything much besides math. Dad really liked teaching me math. He said that it was the most useful thing. I'm glad that I taught myself to read, because I think that that's more important." Tom agreed. If you couldn't read, you really wouldn' t be able to apply math to real life like in word problems.

"Well, you're right about you couldn't read, you really wouldn' t be able to apply math to real life like in word problems." Tom said.

"Exactly! Then, let's see, kindergarten seemed to be the same, but we learned about spelling simple words like 'got'. Dad taught me multiplication, and he made me memorize my times tables up to 12 x 10. First grade was different. We actually learned science and social studies. We learned about life cycles of butterflies, and even had butterflies in our classroom. The classes aren't really challenging, but school is fun because the kids are fun. I mean, I just couldn't imagine being home-schooled. In first grade, Dad taught me basic division facts, long division, and multiple-digit multiplication. I wonder what second grade would've been like." _Wow, Annabeth can talk,_Tom thought. _Well, Annabeth is almost as smart as I am_, Of course, I learned everything by myself, so that's more impressive, and I'm proud of it, but she seems to like a challenge. She sounded like she thought that unchallenging classes was a bad thing, so maybe she'd become an independent learner. But Tom still wanted to see if she was girly.

"Do you like dolls, princesses, you know, stuff like that?" Tom asked tenatively.

"Oh yes, I like braiding dolls' hair, dressing them up in different outfits, and other stuff like that. I also like the Disney Princesses. They're American characters." Annabeth must've caught the look on Tom face though, because she added quickly "oh, but don't worry. I won't talk about that with you. I realize that boys don't like dolls and princesses, so don't worry. Also, I don't like playing with them all day. Plus, I doubt that this place has decent dolls. I mean," Annabeth quickly corrected when she realized that she had sounded rude, "that my favorite dolls are probably different from British dolls, so yeah." Annabeth said. So she was girly, but she was still capable of intelligent conversation. _That was good_, Tom thought. Having Annabeth around would be an interesting change. A teacher came into their room and told them that they were allowed to go outside for an hour.

"Let's go outside, Tom," Annabeth said. "I'd like some fresh air." Tom, however, knew that he'd run into bullies outside.

"Are you sure that that's a good idea? I mean, there might be bullies," Tom said, remembering painful encounters with bullies, most of them outside where adults really kept even less of a watch than they usually did. Annabeth noticed Tom lightly fingering his bruises.

"Well, we can sneak out of your window. I don't think there's anyone in the place outside of your window." She looked out of Tom's window. "Yep, I was right." So Tom snuck out of his window with Annabeth. However, as Annabeth climbed out, she stepped on a snake.

"Ahh!" Annabeth yelled, when she realized that she had stepped on a snake. The snake, looking at her angrily, hissed. Tom knew that Annabeth had stepped on it on accident.

"**Don't hurt her,"** Tom said.

The snake turned its head to Tom. **"She stepped on me,"** it said.

**"I know, but it was an accident. She didn't mean to."** The snake looked shocked. Well, as shocked as a snake could look.

**"You can understand me?"** the snake asked.

**"Yes, why?"** Tom asked. His question was answered.

"Tom, you can talk to snakes?" Annabeth asked, stunned. What? What was going on?


	7. Chapter 6

To say that Annabeth was surprised when Tom started hissing at the snake she had just stepped on was an understatement. She was even more surprised when the snake started hissing back. It sounded like they were having a conversation. What was going on? First the incident in the cafeteria, then this? She felt increasingly... ordinary, boring. She saw a confused look on Tom's face.

"Tom, you can talk to snakes?" she asked.

"Well, yeah, I guess. I was talking in english, and the snake seemed to understand me. Didn't you hear me?" Tom looked confused.

"No Tom, you weren't talking in English. You were hissing. That's what I heard from you. Hissing. What were you saying?" Annabeth asked.

"I was telling it not to hurt you, but I'm surprised. I didn't realize that I was hissing. It still sounded like English to me." Tom said. He turned to the snake, hissed some more, and Annabeth saw the snake bow its head a little before it slithered off.

"Anyway, we might as well go back in." Tom said. They both snuck back into Tom's window. It was dinnertime. Annabeth's stomach rumbled painfully.

"Get in line for the food anyway," Tom said. "Maybe no one will notice." But as they got in line, Annabeth saw Mrs. Cole.

"No dinner and breakfast for you!" Mrs. Cole yelled loudly, catching the attention of a lot of kids. Annabeth heard a lot of snickering. Her eyes nearly welled up with tears, but she tried to hold them back. No one would care about her feelings here like people did back home. At home, if she was upset, people besides her parents usually apologized. She quickly left, telling Tom, "I'll save you a seat," before sitting down at a table. She pretended to scratch her eyes. Tom sat down beside her.

"Why are you crying?" he asked.

"I'm not," Annabeth replied.

"Yeah right," Tom scoffed. "You're really obvious, you know."

"Well, I'm sorry!" Annabeth snapped. "I miss home. At home, the kids at school actually cared about my feelings. Some kids did lightly tease me, but if it was rude, I told them that I was offended, and they'd apologize. I highly doubt that anyone would do that here."

"Well, that's what people are like here. I don't know what your home would feel like because I grew up here, and this is normal life for me. And I wouldn't be mean to you unless you were mean to me." Tom added. "But if you at least pretend like it doesn't bother you, you will look invincible, and while people won't admit it, they'll admire that.

"I'm sorry that you had to grow up here for all of your childhood Tom, and you're right. I guess I just need to get used to this. It is my first day. But you're right. Sensitivity has no place here. And why do I need these people. They're stupid, so I don't." Annabeth's stomach rumbled again.

"Here." Tom said. He scooped some of the vegetables out of his soup. "Hold out your hand."

"Tom, I couldn't. The vegetables are the only filling part of your soup. And besides, I don't like the veggies." Her stomach rumbled again though, as if protesting. Tom grinned.

"Seems like your stomach is protesting. And don't worry about me."

"Alright. I'll have one vegetable." Tom rolled his eyes, but dropped one vegetable in her hand. She ate it, gulping it down with a grimace on her face. When Tom was done with his soup, they walked back to Tom's room.

"Ok, now we should study," Tom said. Annabeth liked talking to Tom. He was nice and smart. However, a small part of her craved to study. She knew that that was the only other interesting thing besides talking to Tom, because she had seen the toys, and she didn't like them. _I sound so spoiled_, Annabeth thought. _But maybe being spoiled is a good thing. After all, I do want to study more because it seems more entertaining, and studying is a good thing_. Tom showed Annabeth some of his books. It was a science book, of about a third-grade level.

"I've already read it, but since your dad stressed math, I reckon that you might learn something from the book." Tom and Annabeth studied in silence. Annabeth liked it. When the other boys started coming into Tom's room, Annabeth left, giving Tom's books back to him.

"Thanks," Annabeth said. Then, she left.

Back in Annabeth's room, the girls started teasing her.

"So, you were hanging out with the freak boy who always reads?" they taunted. Annabeth ignored them. "But then again, you're a know-it-all too, so it makes sense. 'Tom and Annabeth sitting in a tree,'" they sang. "S-N-O-G-G-I-N-G". She was about to retort when she realized that she was in Britain, and maybe they said snogging instead of kissing. She turned around and was on her side. She remembered how she had snuck out of Tom's window with him. _Hmmm... _Annabeth thought. _I have a window in my room too. Maybe I could sneak out. I wonder if I could get a job. Maybe I could buy chocolate for me. Or Tom. He deserved chocolate too. I don't think he's ever had chocolate. That's sad. I don't think I can survive without chocolate._ Annabeth fell asleep while making plans on how to get chocolate the right way, without stealing.

The next day, after classes, lunch, and studying with Tom, Tom and she went outside by sneaking out of the window. She didn't think it was necessary, but she had to admit that it was more fun sneaking out. She told Tom part of her plan. She didn't tell him that she wanted to get chocolate, or that she'd get some for him too. She wanted to surprise him.

"It won't work," Tom stated simply.

"I think it will. But I just need a little favor from you. The matrons can't find out, so I'll sneak back in through the window. Will you open the window when I knock on your window?"

"Sure. But why would you go through all of this trouble for a couple of pence?"

"Because I can save up and buy things with the money."

"Alright. I won't take too long at dinner in case you get back while I'm at dinner."

"Thanks, Tom," Annabeth said. She ran to town, and went into the first store she saw, which happened to be a bookstore.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"Yes miss, how may I help you?" the manager asked.

"Would you be hiring help? I'd like to help out."

"How old are you?" he asked.

"Six, sir," Annabeth replied.

"Alright, how's this; I can't pay you, because you're too young, but I'll give you six pieces of chocolate an hour. I have some chocolate that someone gave me as a gift, but I think I should stay away from chocolate." The man laughed.

"Thanks. I'll try to help out an hour each day." Annabeth was thrilled. Six pieces of candy? That was more than she had expected. That would be three pieces for her and three pieces for Tom. He'd be surprised.

After an hour of stacking books, the manager gave her six wrapped pieces of chocolate. Ecstatic, Annabeth ran back to the orphanage. She knocked at Tom's window. Thankfully, Tom was in his room. He opened the window, and Annabeth climbed back in.

"Tom! Look what I brought for you. Chocolate!" Annabeth gave him three pieces of chocolate. She was happy to see look of surprise and delight on Tom's face.


	8. Chapter 7

_What? _Tom thought. _Annabeth brought chocolate for me?_ Tom saw Annabeth take out one piece of chocolate and eat it. She put the rest in her pocket. She had given him three pieces of chocolate. She had given him half of her chocolate. Tom knew how much Annabeth loved chocolate, and realized that she must consider him important for her to give him chocolate.

"I'll try to save the rest for after dinner and lunch tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be able to control myself." Annabeth said. Tom unwrapped all of his chocolate and ate them in three bites.

"I've never had chocolate. I've just heard of how good it is." He chewed. "And it's amazing! Thank you Annabeth. I'm glad that you decided to share your chocolate with me. But why? I mean, you've probably realized that chocolate here is a rare luxury, like gold."

"You're my friend, Tom. My only friend here. I want to share what little I have with you, Tom," Annabeth replied simply. _Wow_, Tom thought in wonder. _She makes me feel like I'm special. I mean, I know that I'm smart and special, that's obvious, but her kindness shows that I'm not the only one who values myself_. _She's also smart, and while she's not as interested in learning everything as I am, at least I can talk to her. I never realized this before she came, but having company is...feels... nice. I just hope that she never betrays me. I mean, my mom died and left me alone in the world, my dad isn't in my life, the people who're supposed to take care of me treat me like I'm worthless, and the kids hate me. She is nice, but I've lost trust in other people. I hope she proves my mindset wrong. _Tom often went deep into his thoughts.

"Earth to Tom!" Annabeth said loudly, waving her hand in front of Tom's face. _She uses the oddest expressions_, Tom thought, and nearly laughed.

"Sorry, were you saying something?" Tom asked.

"I was saying that I miss watching Hindi movies with my parents." What? Annabeth had told Tom that Hindi was a language. For movies to be in a language, they'd have to have sound. She had watched television with sound?

"You watched movies? You had a television? Movies had sound?" Tom asked. Annabeth looked surprised.

"Of course movies had sound. Of course I had a television. Most people have one, at least in America. What kind of a question is that?" She looked at Tom with an expression of disbelief.

"Annabeth, televisions aren't commercially avaliable yet."

"Well, maybe they are in America." Annabeth replied.

"No they aren't. I've read about televisions. Here, I'll prove it." Tom went and got out a book. He opened it up and pointed to one of the sentences.

"Here. It says 'televisions are yet to be comercially produced in the world...'. Comercially means 'for public users,' Tom added after seeing Annabeth's blank expression. _She really needs to expand her vocabulary_, he thought. He saw Annabeth's expression. She seemed to be thinking about something. Then she shook her head slightly, as if dismissing it.

"What are you thinking about?" Tom asked.

"I'm just that easy to figure out, aren't I?" Annabeth asked ruefully.

"Actually, yes," Tom replied.

"What's the date?" Annabeth asked.

"August 26," Tom replied. "Why?"

"What year?" Annabeth asked back.

"Oh, you're testing me. Of course I know what year it is. It's 1933." Tom saw Annabeth's eyes open wide. Her mouth dropped in shock, and her life seemed to drain out of her. She looked like she could fall over with a poke.

"What? Are you that surprised that I know the year?" Tom joked, but he knew that it was something else. _It couldn't be, could it?_

"Tom stop joking! Seriously?"

"Annabeth, I'm not lying. See, look at the calendar." Tom pointed to the calendar. Though dusty, it said "1933".

"But how's that possible? I was born in 1997!" What? Okay, now Annabeth was the one who was joking.

"Haha Annabeth, very funny. You can't time travel!"

"Tom, I know that this sounds ridiculous, but you must believe me." Tom saw Annabeth rack her brain for something.

"Unfortunately, a major event that I remember is that World War 2 will start about 1939 or 1940. I don't remember exactly which, so you won't see proof for 6 years. But Tom, they will add color to movies sometime this decade."

"Okay," Tom said doubtfully. "But for now, let's forget about this." He wasn't sure that he believed her yet, but he figured that it would be impossible for her to prove herself right away even if she was being honest. But then again, he had done magic, and he could talk to snakes, so maybe she'd sent herself back in time. But wouldn't she have remembered if she did? He decided not to give it more thought.

"Since we're on the subject, we might as well research televisions." They had been studying together for the past couple of days. It was their routine, but neither of them had established it. After all, Tom had most of the good books, so Annabeth read Tom's books. Later, as it was time to go to sleep, Tom started pondering the day's events until he fell asleep.

**I know that I'm stretching the chapters out, but every chapter does have an important event. I'll try to make the next chapter different. Please review, or I won't want to update!**


	9. Chapter 8

Life had become routine for Annabeth. Breakfast, classes, lunch, talking to Tom, studying with Tom, going outside and working at the bookstore for an hour, sneaking back throught Tom's window and sharing half of her chocolate with him, dinner, studying with him some more, and then going to sleep. She seemed to learn more with Tom than she would with her parents and teachers back home. She supposed that that was because Tom was the first really smart kid she had met, so she kind of wanted to be as smart as he was. She realized that she was competitive. Also, she had lots of time on her hands, and the orphanage was pretty boring, so it was easier to learn a lot from the books. The books were the only good things about the orphanage. From the books, she learned basic fundamentals of geology, chemistry, physics, and learned about animals. She also learned algebra and more advanced arithmetic than she would as a first-grader. She and Tom had gotten to be great friends. She was happy. She had a lot of friends back home, but here she finally had a smart friend who was her equal, who understood her. Because the orphanage didn't really have good toys or clothes, in time her girlyness disappeared. She didn't dress-up, she didn't braid dolls' hair, but pink was still her favorite color. But her girlyness disappearing made it easier for her to talk to Tom. She never had to worry about boring him, at least that way. Of couse, Tom and Annabeth had arguments. Like:

"Tom, did you know that there are three types of rocks? Igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic! And did you know that they can turn into each other. How does that happen? I mean, pressing on a rock changes it into another rock? That sounds impossible, and -"

"Annabeth, can't you ever just shut up? Do you always have to talk? You can be so annoying, you know? And you're really loud! Just learn to be quiet for once!" Annabeth reeled back in shock, and then left. For the next couple of days, they didn't talk to each other. _Is what Tom said true? Am I loud and obnoxious? Maybe he has a point. But he could have said it in a nicer way. And besides, that's just me. But maybe I shouldn't always voice my thoughts_. Annabeth sighed ruefully. She sat there, absorbed in her own thoughts. That's when she noticed something. She remembered her classes in first grade back in America. She had memories of classes that she had never had. She had a memory of a math test in that classroom that she had never taken. She had a memory of nearly getting a detention for talking to one of her classmates when she had _never done that_. _What's happening to me? I'm probably just making stuff up. But it feels like part of my mind is sitting through class at my old school. Surely my mind wouldn't make up every boring detail of every minute of class. My mind kind of feels like it's sitting there and here, but my body's not. Why? What's going on_? She got up to talk to Tom, but remembered their fight. _He won't want to talk to me now. And I'm not desperate to talk to him. He was mean, and he'll apologize_. At dinner, Annabeth caught Tom's eye, but they didn't talk to each other. This continued for five days. In the meanwhile, Annabeth started noticing more of her "memories" in America. _Hanging out with Tom must've made me oblivious to... to this, but now that I'm alone, I've noticed it more_. Finally, one day at dinner, Annabeth couldn't take it anymore. She wasn't good at being mad at people. She walked toward Tom, who seemed to be surprised to see Annabeth.

"Look Tom, I -" Tom interrupted her though.

"I'm sorry, Annabeth. I'll be honest, I did mean it at the time, but these past couple of days, I've realized that, all in all, I like your talkativeness. It's you, and that makes you interesting. I was just annoyed that way, and when people annoy me, it's usually on purpose, so I lash out like that. I realized that you were just being you. I was just in the mood for a little bit of quiet at the time. But -" Tom broke off. He seemed nervous. _I guess he's never apologized to anyone before, but they don't care about him, so it makes sense_. He continued.

"- are you mad at me?"

"No Tom, I'm not. You kind of have a point, and friends don't get mad at friends for something like this. And you're my best friend here, maybe ever, so it's okay." Annabeth had a memory of getting the math test back at her old school and getting a 100%. "Tom, I have to tell you something. You may not believe it, but it's as real as your... talent," Annabeth finished. She told Tom everything she had noticed.

"You could be making these 'memories' up," Tom replied.

"But I wouldn't make up living through every single minute of my classes at one o'clock each day, you know." Annabeth saw Tom thinking.

"Well, something strange had definitely happened to you. You came here with no memory of what happened to you, you may be from the future -"

"I AM from the future!" Annabeth exclaimed.

"That's yet to be proven. And you seem to have memories of being at your old home. If I didn't know better, I'd say that you were existing in two places at once as a 6-year-old. How that would happen I don't know, but that seems like something."

"Oh Tom!" Annabeth burst, suddenly remembering something. "Here's five days worth of chocolate. I...well... kind of missed you, and saved your half of the chocolate for when we would be friends again." Tom was delighted, which made Annabeth happy that she managed to control herself with great difficulty.

"Thank you." Tom replied.

Also, in December, Annabeth told the bookstore manager that instead of chocolate for two weeks, she'd like a book.

"It's for a birthday present for my friend, sir," Annabeth said. The bookstore manager looked at her, and out of the holiday spirit, agreed. She told Tom that she couldn't control herself anymore and ate all of her chocolate. She saw a little disappointment in his eyes, but she knew it would disappear when he saw his book. She asked him what is one book he'd have if he could have any book in the world.

"I think I'd like an encyclopedia," Tom replied. Annabeth realized that she'd have to rebargain with the storekeeper.

"If I work a month, can you give me an A - Z encyclopedia?" The manager thought long and hard about this, but decided that the little girl deserved this much.

"Alright, I'll give you an encyclopedia of one letter each day. If you get sick, make up the days in January. If you don't though, I'll hunt you down and take your encyclopedias back."

"Ok mister," Annabeth replied. So each day, she lugged home one book each day and crept through her own window instead of Tom's. Thankfully, even though her clothes weren't warm, she didn't catch more than a cold and cough. On December 31st, she crept into Tom's room and approached his bed, where Tom was sleeping peacefully.

"Wake up Tom! I have a surprise for you. And happy birthday, by the way," Annabeth whispered.

"You're lying." Tom mumbled in his sleep. "I can't have a birthday surprise. I never get presents." Annabeth felt sorry for Tom. She had always gotten presents. Last year, she had gotten a brand-new bicycle! She shook Tom until he woke up.

"Annabeth! What are you doing here?" Tom asked in sleepy wonder.

"Come with me! Happy birthday, and I've got you a surprise." They crept together back to Annabeth's room. She took out the encyclopedias from her temporary hiding place, which was under her bed, stacked them up, and pushed the stack toward Tom.

"Happy birthday, Tom." Annabeth said, and smirked when she saw Tom's mouth open in wonder. "That's why I hadn't been bringing chocolate home for the past month. It wasn't because I was selfish." Then, she whisper-sang 'Happy Birthday'. "But hide them among your old books. I'll hide some with me. But don't worry, they're still yours. And sorry I couldn't get you a Christmas gift," Annabeth said sadly, but Tom seemed too delighted with his present to care. The look on his face was priceless, and made the whole thing worth it. That night, Annabeth suggested that they both sneak out of their rooms, go to their classroom since it had a clock, and countdown till the New Year.

"Why would you do that?" Tom asked.

"It's fun. Well, I think it's fun. You might think it's pointless, but it kind of feels cool to be awake when the new year officially starts. In America, we'd watch the ball drop in New York City on T.V. 'The ball' looks like a huge disco ball, and it starts dropping 15 min. before the New Year. It's part of the countdown. We can't do that here, but we can count down." Tom reluctantly agreed. When everyone seemed to be asleep, Annabeth snuck out and went to their classroom. Tom joined her about 10 min. later.

"I just realized something. You can read a clock, can't you?" Tom asked.

"I can understand what an analog clock says, yes, but it's been harder to see out of my glasses lately, so I can't really read it well right now. Is it 12:00 already?" Annabeth asked.

"No, it's 11:55."

"Did you enjoy your encyclopedias?" Annabeth asked.

"Yes, I did. It...they...whatever... was the best present ever."

"I'm glad."

"It's 11:59, you know."

"Why didn't you tell me before? 60... 59... 58... come on Tom, count down with me. This is the fun part. We'll be awake and conscious during the first second of the new year." They counted down in quiet voices. "3...2...1...Happy New Year Tom!" Annabeth whispered which as much intensity as she could. "I've lived the first second of 1934 consciously. It's 1934, and you're 7 years old Tom." She saw Tom smile.


	10. Chapter 9

Tom smiled. While he didn't really enjoy the countdown to the New Year (he didn't see what was so great about it; they would've woken up eight hours later and experienced the New Year then), he liked sneaking out. It made him feel...brave. He could do this without getting caught. There was something mysteriously enjoyable about sneaking out at night. He couldn't place his finger on it, but he enjoyed it. He recounted today's events. He was quite surprised when Annabeth showed him the encyclopedias. Tom remembered telling Annabeth about how he'd like an encyclopedia, and he also remembered how Annabeth had told him that she kept "eating all of her chocolate", but he never thought to connect the two. It would've seemed ridiculous, he realized. He wouldn't have believed that someone would do that for him. _I guess she really does care about me_, Tom thought. _Just when I thought that humanity sucks, and that no one will ever be there for you, she comes along and proves me wrong. I guess that maybe I just shouldn't judge people based on past experiences. Of course, I'm not going to totally rely on her, but just because I don't need her to survive doesn't mean that it's not nice having her around_.

Several months passes, and then, it was March 17, Annabeth's birthday. _Oh no! I didn't get her anything. She's probably missing her family, wishing she could do something fun on her birthday_. Tom looked through his encyclopedias, trying to find something. When he got to 'O', he found it. Origami. The encyclopedia had also given directions for an origami crane as an example. Tom found some relatively clean paper in one of the other students' rooms, and carefully folded the paper according to the instructions. When he was done, he created a card and wrote some words on it. The fact that his handwriting was unnaturally neat practically made it calligraphy, considering the fact that he was only seven. Later in the day, when he saw Annabeth, he approached her.

"I know that it is nowhere as good as the presents you'd normally get, but, here," and Tom handed Annabeth the card. He had written; "Happy birthday Annabeth" on the cover in his nice, fancy handwriting. Annabeth opened it eagerly. Inside, it said:"Annabeth; I don't know how you ended up here, but I'm glad that you did. You're a good friend, a good person, and if anyone deserves a happy birthday, it's you. Happy Birthday!" The paper crane fell out.

"Tom, thank you. That was the most heartfelt present I've ever gotten from a mere friend. Of course, you're my best friend, but still." Tom blushed. He wasn't used to expressing his emotions, and he wasn't used to thank-you's. He always felt that expressing emotions was a sign of weakness, and he had never felt affectionate toward anyone since no one was really nice to him. But he was glad that Annabeth appreciated what little he had given her.

Their lives went on. They weren't bullied too often anymore, but one time two bullies, Dennis and Amy, had walked in on Tom and Annabeth while Tom was practicing his magic. They were shocked, but quickly got over it.

"What are you doing, you freaks? There's something wrong with you, little boy!" Then, they proceeded to try to punch Tom. Of course, Tom glared at them and managed to make them fall back as if they had been punched. They left, saying "we'll get ya, ya little freak!"

"I'd love revenge," Tom glowered. Annabeth looked at him. He braced himself for a lecture from her. After all, she just didn't get what it was like, being suppressed, and he didn't want to be suppressed. She didn't have the thirst for revenge that he had, so she'd never fully understand him.

"I know Tom, so do I," Annabeth replied, stunning Tom."But what do you plan on doing? I mean, they deserve revenge, but I believe that they only deserve to somehow have the tables turned on them. You can do magic, Tom. We are capable of having the tables turned on them." Tom thought.

"But they're bullies! They bother me for no reason. I want them to feel intense pain. I want them to go crazy with the pain, the way I used to go crazy thinking 'what's wrong with me, why does no one like me'!" 

"Oh, Tom, I'm sorry! But still, they should understand why they are wrong, and doing exactly what they do to us is the best way. I know my idea may sound stupid, but can we give it a try? If not, you're welcome to hurt them a little bit." Annabeth then told Tom her plan. _It was worth a try_, Tom supposed. Tom first tried their idea out on Annabeth. After a couple of tries, where Tom tried not to crack up, it worked. Tom then changed Annabeth back to normal. They'd try it tomorrow, they agreed.

The next day at lunch, the kids walked behind Dennis and Amy and then sat down at a lunch table in front of them. Tom and Annabeth could still see Dennis and Amy's faces. Tom stared at them, and after two minutes, the transformation took place. Dennis's hair turned pink, and Amy's hair turned blue. On the front of both of their shirts, the words 'KICK ME' appeared. Everyone gasped, including Tom and Annabeth so that they wouldn't look suspicious. Then, everyone started cracking up. The matrons ushered them out of the room and told them to go change. Tom and Annabeth had already been there though, and all of their clothes said 'KICK ME'. Tom and Annabeth couldn't stop laughing.

"Wow Annabeth, that was funny! But what was the point of that?" Tom asked wonderingly.

"That was so that they would know what it was like to be laughed at for something that they couldn't control. The next part of my plan is..." This part was harder, and took them two weeks of solid effort for Tom to manage. But it was worth it, and seemed more valuable, in Tom's opinion. When they were ready, Tom stared at the paper person that he and Annabeth had built. Soon, it came to life. They made it walk until they found Dennis and Amy, and hid behind a door while the paper person walked up to them. Tom stared at the paper person and at Dennis. All of a sudden, Dennis staggered back, clutching his eye, while, at the same time, the paper person's fist had thrust forward. Amy charged toward the paper person, but before she could touch it, it punched her too. It started walking forward, punching Dennis and Amy, leading them into the cafeteria so that the whole orphanage saw what was happening. This time, no one bothered concealing their laughter. Then, the paper person instantly disintegrated. Later, Tom and Annabeth approached a very humiliated Dennis and Amy.

"I'm sorry that you were humiliated like that when it was no fault of yours," Annabeth said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "You must be upset for being attacked like that and having everyone laugh at you when you didn't do anything to the paper person. But let me tell you -" Annabeth was practically hissing at this point. "- that God has seen how you treat other innocent children like Tom, who didn't do anything to you, and is now taking revenge. But if you promise that you won't do it again, and actually keep it, God might be pleased and may stop trying to humiliate you. Just a suggestion," Annabeth grinned. A worn-out Dennis and Amy just nodded, not wanting to deal with anyone. Tom looked at Annabeth, amazed.

"Wow, you really know how to pack a mighty punishment," he said later, when they were back in Tom's room. "If I had carried out my punishment, I admit that they might've been scared of me without understanding that I wanted to hurt them because they humiliated me. You managed to make them feel how bullies' victims do, so that was a much better plan." Annabeth seemed proud of herself.

"Thank you, Tom, but you did most of it. I wish that I could do magic. But I'll never hate you for your abilities, Tom, don't worry."

One day, however, something strange happened.


	11. Chapter 10

Annabeth enjoyed the pranks that she and Tom played on the bullies. She didn't think the bullies would be bullying anyone anytime soon. She realized that they had stooped to the level of the bullies, but she knew that that was only because the bullies had started it, and she and Tom wouldn't bother the bullies now that they had learned their lesson. Annabeth didn't realize that she was changing Tom, changing time. She didn't realize that she had prevented one of the steps that Tom would've taken on his way to becoming Voldemort if he had hurt Amy and Dennis until they went mad. However, she did understand his thirst for revenge. She was different, though, because she had grown up around loving family and friends long enough to develop emotions, which assured her that there were kind people in the world.

Time went on, and Annabeth and Tom weren't bothered by the other childern, but come August, Annabeth had what she felt was a bigger problem to worry about. The 'other Annabeth' in her other time, the one who was still growing up with her family, was moving. She was moving from Mayfield to Somerdale. The Annabeth who was moving was excited about going to a new school, especially since she had heard that it was one of the best schools at the time, but our Annabeth knew better. When she had 'moved' to the orphanage, she had made an unknown social mistake and was now an outcast. Of course, she didn't regret it, but if Annabeth made a mistake, her reputation might go down the drain, and she might be left without a friend. It was while thinking about this that she realized how much she relied on Tom for company. Annabeth wasn't a loner, and knew it would be hard without friends. _Be careful_, Annabeth thought to herself.

_Who are you_? Annabeth was startled to hear the voice in her head when she realized that that was her own voice. _I keep hearing your thoughts and memories, and I know that I've never been to Britain, even though that's where you seem to be_. Annabeth realized that she could communicate with the future Annabeth, and decided to reply.

_I'm you. It's hard to explain what happened, but I was sent back in time. Seeing how you're still in 2004, I must've been made younger when I was sent back in time_. _I just want to tell you that I've had the experience of moving, and you've got to be careful. _

_You don't have many friends, though, so what would you know?_ Future Annabeth sneered.

_That's because I rather be friends with Tom than have many other friends here at the orphanage. My heart has also hardened a little bit when I realized that there are lots of people who are mean. You, though, haven't had many people be mean to you, so you'll just have to be careful. I mean, be yourself mostly, but try to assess the situation and then adapt. Don't do anything outright stupid, and don't show that you're smart right away, unless there are other smart but nice people. If you're in a class of popular people, it'll be best to only act a little smart, because popular people are anything but brainacs. And don't tell anyone about me._

_Um, okay? I'll see. And of course I won't tell them about you. I'm not crazy._ Then, the future Annabeth stopped 'thinking toward' 1934 Annabeth. Annabeth was nervous for her future self. The first day of school came along. She saw herself see a group of girls talking. 'Hey! I'm Annabeth. You can call me Anna. I'm new.' She saw the girls look at each other. 'Hey Anna,' they said back, but they didn't invite her into their conversation. Annabeth sat down by them and tried to talk to them. 'Do you think that the teacher will be mean?' The girls responded dully, but it was clear that they weren't going to be friends. The guys were just guys, and Annabeth figured that they were mostly popular, too. There was one smart kid in their class, but he was just so annoying. I mean, he was like Tom in the sense that they were both smart and both preferred to be mostly alone instead of being around most other kids. But this boy, blond, tall, and a bit chubby, paraded around like a peacock, and Annabeth (both of them) hated him.

That school year started off badly. Despite the future Annabeth's efforts to fit in, her few friends that she made weren't close like her friends at her old school were. Annabeth persuaded her future self against lying and saying that she was moving back to Mayfield. Her future self wanted to see if anyone would care, but Annabeth replied that if they would, they would be better, closer friends. But her future self missed her old friends so much that even Annabeth found herself crying like she hadn't for years. She was so mad and sad that she looked up at the calendar, wishing that she could turn back the clock for her future self and that her future self could've stayed in Mayfield, or atleast given her friends a better goodbye. All of a sudden, the calendar blew up. _Ohmigod! Did I just do magic? She ran to Tom's room and told him_.

"Tom! Tom! Guess what?" When she got to Tom's room, she was glad to find that Tom was alone in his room. "I can do magic!"

"What? How do you know?"

"I blew up the calendar." Annabeth then proceeded to tell him what had happened, starting from her talking to her future self, to her crying over her future self's loss, and then ending with the calendar blowing up.

"You cried? Because your future self had to move away from her friends?" Tom sounded a bit condensing.

"Well, yeah. I feel sorry for her. She's not used to as much loneliness as I am, and she was so sad that it got to me, like a contagious disease."

"Well, you should tell her that you don't really need company, and that she should be able to do fine without it. You're smart, and you don't really need anyone. I like being your friend, but if you weren't, I wouldn't be devastated. I think that you're at least more like that, if not completely like that, and she should be like that too. After all, she must be like you, smart, creative, you know." Tom finished, stammering a bit at the end.

"You're right. I will tell her that. You have to admit, I might not have discovered my magic if I wasn't upset." Over time, Annabeth convinced her future self that she was special, and she didn't need any lesser person to tell her that. Eventually, her future self got that, and became more confident. Annabeth and Tom practiced trying to do things with their magic along with their study sessions. Annabeth gave up her job at the bookstore after paying off for the encyclopedias in work hours. In time, they could make pages of books turn on their own and summon newspapers. They realized that controlling their magic required extreme willpower, so they had to really want something to make it work. A year passed, and they were both nine. They had tried using magic to make each other origami presents, and their origami had turned out a bit better than usual.

One day, Annabeth and Tom were studying. Annabeth looked over at Tom. _He's really smart, and he's just nice. He has willpower, but he's willing to listen. He is so logical and really talented_. But, Annabeth realized, she loved how Tom was always there for her, and how he like her for her. She realized the importance of that after seeing her future self's experiences. Tom saw Annabeth looking at him and raised an eyebrow. Annabeth blushed, much to her surprise, and looked back down at her book. _And he looks so cute when he's concentrating like that. How have I not noticed that_? Annabeth went back to studying, but at night, she couldn't sleep. _Why do I feel...differently about Tom? I mean, it's different than what I've been thinking of him the past three years. I mean, how? Somehow, I have a feeling that he doesn't feel the same way about me. I just know. But what is this feeling_?

**Annabeth is falling in love with Tom! Yes, I've finally gotten there. Please review!**


	12. Chapter 11

Tom realized that there was something strange lately, but he couldn't put his finger on it. One day, he saw Annabeth looking a little bit upset.

"Why are you upset? What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing," Annabeth said, but she wasn't convincing. She sighed. "Apparently, my future self has a crush on this one boy in her class. He's the only one who lets her be herself, he's there for her, he understands her and her situation, .etc."

"So why are you upset?" Tom asked. Why did that bother Annabeth? He saw her think.

"Because it's contagious, and now I have a crush on someone who I don't know. Isn't that just brilliant!" Annabeth groaned. Tom nodded. That did make sense. He couldn't imagine having a crush on someone, or falling in love. He had seen teenagers in love, and they just seemed like addled fools. _I mean, what good does love do_?

"Oh yeah, I can see why you're so upset, but don't worry about it." As the days went by, Annabeth told him what her future self was going through. She also told him about the bits of advice she'd throw, which seemed to work for her future self, such as not telling anyone about her crush. That way, her future self stayed friends with her crush, and at least she had his friendship. Tom agreed. Especially if the boy didn't feel the same way back, telling him about it would've been a sign of weakness. He had noticed Annabeth look at Tom strangely, but he was sure nothing was wrong with him or different about him. Tom and Annabeth's tenth birthdays arrived, then their eleventh birthdays, and then summer was here. Tom noticed that, over time, not only was Annabeth more inclined to learn, but she was more independent. _That's good_, he thought. _It's better to do everything on your own basis. Then you can be more proud of it_. Around July, Tom noticed something different about Annabeth. She was a bit uneasy around him, almost nervous. _What's wrong? I don't think I did anything_.

"Annabeth, why are you nervous around me? I haven't done anything."

"Oh, nothing. I just don't want to always hang around you and possibly annoy you." Tom could tell that Annabeth was lying, though. She never seemed to worry about that. She hung around him a lot, and she knew that he didn't hate it, but he decided to let it go for now. Maybe it was just something her future self had said. One day, Mrs. Cole came into Tom's room.

"Tom! Oh Annabeth, you're here too. I thought so. Good. You have a visitor!" In followed a strange man with an auburn beard. _Brilliant. Mrs. Cole probably noticed our magic and thinks that we're crazy. He has to be from the nuthouse_. The man's eyes twinkled, and he seemed to smile at Tom, as if sharing an inside joke with him. Tom was puzzled. He looked over at Annabeth, who seemed just as surprised.

"Hello," the man said. "I'm professor Dumbledore." 

"You're from the nuthouse, aren't you? You have to be! I'm not crazy, and neither is Annabeth!" Tom yelled.

"Shut up, Tom, and just listen! Sorry professor, please continue," Annabeth said. _Wow! Annabeth is worrying about being polite to someone who's probably a madhouse doctor_!

"Thank you, Miss Sharma. Mr. Riddle, if you hadn't interrupted, I would've been able to tell you sooner that Hogwarts isn't a school for mad people. It's a school of magic." Tom and Annabeth both looked astounded. _I knew there was something special about me_, Tom thought.

"M - magic, professor? Is that what Tom and I can do?" Tom heard Annabeth ask.

"Yes indeed. You two are very special children, indeed." 

"But we haven't got any money for tuition, books, and supplies and stuff." Tom replied, his heart sinking. But surely this professor Dumbledore realized that they didn't have any money?

"The school will provide the money for the books, supplies, and uniform. The tuition and board is free. The school goes from September to June." It dawned on Tom then. He would be escaping from this orphanage. Well, for atleast most of the year. And he didn't have to give up his friendship with Annabeth, which meant that he would know one person before he even got to Hogwarts. One thing nagged at him, though.

"Where are we going to get the supplies, professor?" Annabeth asked before Tom could.

"Ah, it's at the Leaky Cauldron. I can take you, if you'd like," professor Dumbledore offered, but Tom wanted to go alone; well, with Annabeth. He didn't want and adult intruding in and ruining his first glimpse of the magical world. He wanted to enjoy it in the way that only unsupervised children can, wandering around with only his friend, and talking without an adult around. He also didn't want to have to rely on someone, anyone.

"It's okay. We want to go ourselves," Tom said. He saw the look on Annabeth's face. She seemed to agree with him, but seemed upset about something he had said.

"What he means, professor, is that we may want to take our time in enjoying our first glimpse of the magical world, and we don't want to tie you up, since you probably have other important things to do. Also, I dunno, the adults we've dealt with in our past have been uptight, and they always ruin our fun. Therefore, we're more used to doing things independently. We promise that we won't do anything stupid, sir," Annabeth said politely and sweetly.

"Very well," the professor replied. He made a piece of paper and pencil appear out of nowhere, and wrote out something. "These are the instructions on how to get into the Leaky Cauldron, and then how to get to Diagon Alley from inside the Leaky Cauldron." He handed them to Tom, and then gave a pouch to Annabeth and one to Tom.

"This is the money to buy supplies. I take it you two accept your place into Hogwarts?"

"Of course!" Tom and Annabeth replied eagerly.

"Very well, then. I'll...erm...convince the matron to drive you two to the train station. Here are the tickets. To get onto platform 9 and 3/4, you must run into the barrier between platform 9 and 10. See you two at Hogwarts!" With that, the professor walked out. As soon as he did, Annabeth rounded on Tom.

"Why did you have to be rude to him, Tom?" Annabeth demanded.

"Because - because he's a meddling fool!" Tom replied.

"I don't know why you think that, he's the one who gave us the escape route from this dump of a place, so atleast be a little bit grateful. The least you could've done is pretend to be grateful! I mean, I didn't want an adult with us on our first major step into the world where we rightfully belong, but you could've been a little politer. He'll probably think the worst of you before you've even arrived at Hogwarts!" Tom realized that Annabeth was right. It was just that, all of his life, the authority figures he'd dealt weren't pleasant, so he was convinced that authority didn't give a crap what happened to you, they just cared about themselves and their system. However, Annabeth was definitely right about one thing. He could atleast pretend.

**Yes! They've learned about Hogwarts! The next chapter will tell you the other main reason why Annabeth is nervous and uneasy around Tom, and it isn't just the fact that she has a crush on him! Any guesses? Do review!**


	13. Chapter 12

Annabeth couldn't believe it. Her future self had read a book series called Harry Potter. Surprisingly, it was about the wizarding world. In it, a villian called Voldemort had killed Harry's parents, and had tried to kill Harry himself, who was only one at the time. Harry somehow survived, and the killing curse rebounded, nearly annihilating Voldemort. Later, Voldemort tried to kill Harry to get the Sorcerer's Stone and bring himself back to life, and failed again. Her future self loved the series, and eagerly read the second book. Annabeth wanted to see what her future self wrote, because she also enjoyed the book. At the end of the second book, though, Annabeth recieved a shock. Harry had encountered the teenage Voldemort through a diary. The teenage Voldemort's real name was Tom Marvolo Riddle, which was her Tom's full name. She was now nervous around him, not knowing what he was capable of now, not knowing exactly what his thoughts, feelings, and intentions were. Annabeth realized that she was probably a bit obvious, but she couldn't help herself. It bothered her even more that she had a crush on him. _He's a murderer_, she thought. _But he hasn't done anything _yet, her self argued. Annabeth saw a new side to Tom's pyscopathic streak. Maybe that's why I was sent back in time, she realized. So far, I've been able to stop him from horribly hurting Dennis and Amy and driving them to insanity. Maybe I can change things.

When the professor had come from the school, initially, she had backed up Tom in wanting to go with him alone to Diagon Alley, but she later asked herself if that was a smart thing to do. She wasn't sure how much she trusted him. _For all I know, Tom might take all of the money that was supposed to be mine for the supplies. He might not give me my ticket_! However, she didn't want Tom to think anything was amiss. She also agreed with Tom and thought that it would be more fun going to Diagon Alley by themselves. If Tom tried anything funny and she couldn't go to Hogwarts, she hoped that Dumbledore would realize.

They went to Diagon Alley the next day. The matrons didn't really seem to care that they were going by themselves. Tom and Annabeth walked until they found the street they were supposed to be on. Then, they looked for the Leaky Cauldron. Tom and Annabeth couldn't see it.

"Where is it?" Tom asked, frustrated.

"Oh, look! I see it!" Annabeth exclaimed. It was a tiny, dingy shop. The eyes of most of the people on the street moved from the shop on the left of the Leaky Cauldron to the one on the right.

"It's almost as if the Muggles can't see it," Tom remarked. "Come on." They walked inside. The barman smiled and greeted them.

"So, here to buy school supplies?" he asked kindly.

"Yes, sir," Annabeth replied. The barman walked with them. In response to Tom's quizzical look, he replied:

"You'll need someone to tap the bricks with a wand to get in. Ah, here we are." He tapped five bricks in a circle, and the wall rearranged itself to create a doorway into Diagon Alley. Annabeth and Tom couldn't contain their expressions of surprise.

"Wow!" They exclaimed. They went in.

"Alright, we need '1 standard-sized cauldron, pewter'," Annabeth read from her list. They walked in, and bought their cauldrons. They continued buying all of the items on their list. When they got to 'three sets of black robes', Tom and Annabeth walked into Madam Malkin's. As they were sized for uniforms, a girl of about their age walked in with someone who looked like her mother. She had thick, bouncy light-brown hair, light-brown eyes, and a nice, bright smile.

"Are you guys getting your uniforms for Hogwarts too?" the girl asked brightly.

"Yes, are you?" Annabeth asked.

"Yes. I'm Emma. Emma Bell."

"I'm Annabeth, but you can call me Anna or is my friend Tom," Annabeth replied, pointing with her hand to where Tom was being sized. Tom raised an eyebrow, probably at Annabeth's new nickname, but didn't comment on that. Instead, he merely replied with a quite 'hello'.

"What house do you hope to be in?" Emma asked.

"House?" Annabeth asked. They had houses at a school?

"You're muggleborn, aren't you?" Emma asked sympathetically. "It's always a big shock for them, since their parents can't tell them about Hogwarts, or any wizarding school as a matter of fact. Anyways, there are four Houses at Hogwarts. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. 'Their nerve, daring, and chivalry' set Gryffindors apart. Hufflepuffs are 'just, loyal and unafraid of toil'. Ravenclaws have 'got a ready mind, there, those of wit and learning will always find their kind', and Slytherins are 'cunning folk who use any means to achieve their ends'. I hope to get into Gryffindor, but I suppose any house is fine. I don't think I'll be a Slytherin, because I think I'm anything but cunning, and I certainly don't use any means to achieve my ends. What about you guys?"

"I sound like a Ravenclaw. I don't think I'm particulary brave, but I suppose I won't really know until the first day of Hogwarts. What about you, Tom?" Annabeth asked, pretty sure about his answer. She knew, from the books that her future self had read, that Tom was the heir of Salazar Slytherin and therefore was in the Slytherin house.

"I think Slytherin sounds cool," Tom said quietly. "They sound like they achieve whatever they want, and sound ambitious."

"So, are you guys alone? Where are your parents?" Emma asked innocently.

"They're dead," Annabeth and Tom said at the same time, in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Emma sounded near tears for her words.

"It's okay, Emma." Annabeth said gently. "Oh, and I just remembered something that you had said earlier. You had asked us if we were muggleborn. What's that?" Annabeth asked.

"Muggleborn wizards and witches are born from Muggle parents. That's possible, and happens quite a bit." Emma replied. "Some gits think that they are better wizards and witches because of their blood status. They're pureblood if their parents, grandparents, etc. all the way back were wizards or witches, and some, mostly Slytherin families, think that they're better simply because of that. I don't, though. I believe that a wizard is better or worse because of their ideals and abilities."

"Well, that's good then, because I'm muggleborn." Annabeth knew that she could say this confidently, because her parents couldn't do magic. As a matter of fact, her future self couldn't do magic, so how could she? _Just add it to the list of unsolved mysteries_, Annabeth thought.

"I don't know," Tom said. "I grew up in the orphanage. Annabeth came there when she was six."

"Well, I've got to go. See you guys at Hogwarts!" Emma, who was all done with sizing and whose mother was holding her robes, left.

"You two are done, too," the lady who was measuring them said. She gave them their uniforms, the two kids paid them, and they left.

"Now to the next part; books!" Tom sounded excited. They got all of their basic books, and paid for them. Annabeth wished they could get the advanced books, but knew that they couldn't use the school's money to buy them yet. Well, at least they could get started on the school curriculum at the orphanage before school started. Her eyes caught sight of a book on a stand, though. It was titled 'Beauty Spells; Everything a Witch (or Wizard) needs to look their best!' Annabeth picked it up and leafed through it. One of the pages had a spell to straighten hair. "Rectum capillis, rectum capillis," Annabeth memorized. She knew that she'd have to write it down.

"May I please borrow a paper and a pen? I'd like to write down the names of one of the books, so that I can buy it later," Annabeth told the shopkeeper innocently. The shop keeper obliged, and she wrote it down. On the next page, the spell to make it permanent was given. "Rectum comam semper," Annabeth wrote. Tom was looking at Annabeth impatiently, though, so Annabeth quickly left.

"Now the best part; the wands!" Annabeth was excited. This was the part that they were both waiting for. They got to Ollivander's and walked inside. An old, raspy voice greeted them.

"Hello. So, you are here for your first wands, are you not?" The children nodded. He looked at Annabeth, then took out a wand.

"Give it a wave," Ollivander said. Annabeth waved it, and the wands of the shelf in front of her fell off. "Not the right one, obviously," she heard Ollivander mutter. What would the 'right wand' do?

"Give this one a try." Annabeth waved it again, and this time, nothing happened. "Never mind, never mind. Here, try this one." As soon as Annabeth picked that wand up, she felt a surge of power. As she waved it, a burst of rainbow-colored sparks shot out from it. "This is it!" Ollivander exclaimed. "Twelve inches, oak, unicorn hair. Now, young man, it's your turn." Annabeth watched as Tom went through about a dozen wands before Ollivander reached up and picked up a wand. Its box was velvet and dusty. "I wonder," Ollivander muttered. "Thirteen-and-a-half inches, yew, phoenix feather. Very powerful wand indeed. Try it." Tom looked delighted to hear that this wand was powerful, and waved it eagerly. Green sparks shot out. "That'll be one galleon for each of your wands, please." They handed over the wands and left eagerly.

"Yes! We have our wands! Now, we can do magic at the orphanage. We can practice some of the spells before school starts." Annabeth was very excited. She couldn't wait to try them out, especially the one burning a hole on a piece of paper in her pocket. They walked back to the orphanage.


	14. Chapter 13

At the orphanage, instead of studying math and science like they used to, Annabeth and Tom worked on spells from their spellbooks. Before long, they could levitate objects, transfigure a matchstick into a needle, and had mastered all other spells from their spellbooks, seeing as they had over twelve hours to work on spells. They figured that it would be dangerous to practice making potions at a Muggle orphanage without possibly being caught, but they read through the books to get an idea of various potions' contents. _It's more fun than chemistry_, Tom thought. He noticed that Annabeth didn't really focus on her 'History of Magic' book, but he knew that she really hated history, and the only reason she was bothering with it at all was so that they could read their magic books together. Soon, it was the day that they were going to Hogwarts. Tom had all of his luggage packed, in which he brought his encyclopedias, because they were the only things besids his magic stuff that he had in terms of luggage. He didn't trust the orphanage children to leave those precious books intact. He dragged his luggage and found Mrs. Cole, who would be driving Tom and Annabeth to the train station. Annabeth showed up ten long minutes later. He saw her and his jaw dropped. Her hair was _straight_. It was perfectly _straight _and _smooth_. How had she done that? She had also seemed to have taken extra care to scrub her face clean, and she looked...pretty. Tom quickly shook that thought away.

"Come on, Annabeth. We're going to be late." Tom said.

"Sorry, Tom," Annabeth replied. "Let's go." Mrs. Cole put their luggage in the trunk and drove them to the station. She helped them put their luggage on two different carts, and then left. "Okay," Annabeth said. "So we find platforms nine and ten, and run between them." They found them. "Okay Tom, you first."

"Scared already, Annabeth? Surely, you won't end up in Gryffindor," Tom smirked, and then ran into the brick wall. He came out on the other side, and saw a huge red train that said 'Hogwarts Express' at the front. Annabeth followed a minute later. They got their luggage off the carts and, using 'Wingardium Leviosa', levitated their luggage onto the train's luggage compartment.

"Wow! You guys can do spells already?" a familiar voice rang out. Tom turned around. It was Emma, the girl from Madam Malkin's.

"Yes, Emma, we practiced," Annabeth replied.

"You guys must be talented, Annie," the girl replied. "But you won't be able to get away with it when you go back over the summer. Once you go to school, you won't be able to do magic over the summer, especially around Muggles. There's something called the Trace that detects the use of magic in underage wizards. If they detect you guys doing magic, you get expelled. You weren't caught now because you hadn't been to school, so they'll count it as accidental magic." Emma finished.

"That's stupid," Tom retorted. "How are we supposed to remember what we learned, then?"

"I agree, Tom, but what can we do?" Emma sighed. "And Annie, what did you do to your hair? I like it!" Tom felt irritated at Annabeth's nickname. She would always be Annabeth to him, and Annie sounded stupid. Annabeth sounded more mature, older. Annabeth seemed to like it, though, probably for the exact opposite reasons.

"I straightened it. I found a charm in a book at Flourish and Blott's. It was 'rectum capillis'." Oh. So that's what she was writing down. _I didn't think she was girly or vain_, Tom thought. _But I suppose she wanted to make a good first impression on the other kids here. That was smart_. Tom looked mostly clean, which was the best you could hope for at the orphanage, but he knew he should make more of an effort to look sharp at Hogwarts. After all, _people do tend to judge other's based on appearances, and I want to let everyone know that I'm the best_.

"Should we go find a compartment?" Tom asked. They went and found a compartment. He'd have time to talk to other's later, he knew, but right now, people only seemed to be sitting with those they knew.

"Sure!" Emma replied. Emma seemed overly cheerful, but kind. The Hogwarts Express started, and Tom looked out the window to see tearful parents waving to their children. He felt a pang of envy. I wish my parents were waving to me like that. _But I don't need to be missed. It doesn't matter, and it would just create unnecessary pain_. On the way, Tom and Annabeth talked to Emma about the spells that they had learned. Tom was delighted to know that Emma hadn't looked through her books at all. _If everyone is like her, then I'll be the top of the class easily. Even Annabeth isn't as dedicated to her studies as I am. She does hate atleast history, and slacks off in it_. But then, to his dismay, Emma started talking about how she had been flying on her broomstick all summer, hoping to get on the Quidditch team, even though first years hadn't been let in for fourty-six years, as Emma had put it. Even though Tom wasn't that interested in sports, it pained him to realize that there might be one thing that he wasn't good at, as useless as Tom may consider Quidditch to be. And flying just couldn't be learned out of a book.

"Wow! Quidditch sounds exciting!" Annabeth said delightedly. "I can't wait until we learn how to fly! Maybe I might be relatively decent." Tom could see the hope and excitement in Annabeth's face. _She's just a lot more carefree, I guess_. Then, a witch came pushing a cart full of an assortment of sweets. Tom looked hungrily, his stomach rumbling, and saw the same look on Annabeth's face. They both knew, however, that they couldn't afford it. Emma, however, perked up and took out a jingling pouch that Tom assumed had money in it.

"Give me three Chocolate Frogs, a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans, and three pastries please." The witch took out the various sweets and gave them to Emma.

"That'll be two galleons, eight sickles." Emma paid the woman, and she left. Emma gave one chocolate frog and one pastry to Tom and Annabeth each, and opened the box of beans and split them between the three people. _Well, maybe there are kinder people out there. It just seems like the non-magical folk are mean, and then again, they don't understand magical people. They think we're freaks. But the magical folk, they are nice_.

"Thanks, Emma," Annabeth replied with a mouth full of beans. 

"You're welcome. Oh, and I should've warned you before, when they say Every Flavor, they mean every flavor. Once, I seem to have gotten an earwax flavored one." Just then, Annabeth groaned.

"Ugh. I tasted something disgusting. Tasted like brocoli or something of the sort." Annabeth said disgustedly. Tom ate his carefully and was happy to find that he didn't get any strange-flavored beans.

"Emma, are the Chocolate Frogs actual frogs?" Tom asked.

"No, of course not. They just look like frogs, and have a charm that makes them jump, so be careful. They've only got one good jump in them, though."

"Well, you can never tell with the wizarding world. I mean, Bertie Bott's beans are every flavored." Tom replied. The friends talked happily the whole way there. Before they knew it, it had started getting dark.

"We should change into our robes," Emma stated. Emma, Annabeth, and Tom went to their respective bathrooms and changed. Then, the train stopped, and everyone started getting out.

"We're there!" Emma said excitedly. Tom couldn't wait to see Hogwarts in it's full glory.


	15. Chapter 14

Annabeth gasped. Hogwarts was beautiful. All of the lights were on, making the castle glitter in the surrounding darkness. She looked over at Tom and saw that he was looking at Hogwarts in wonder too, but his face had a more passive expression. However, Annabeth had known Tom long enough to recognize his expressions.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Annabeth asked.

"It is wonderful," Tom said and nodded, indicating that he agreed. They didn't have time to say more, though, because they heard a voice.

"First years! Over here, over here!" All of the first years climbed into boats, four to a boat. Annabeth, Tom, and Emma sat together along with a red-headed boy who seemed quiet. Knowing that Tom wasn't one to start a conversation with new people, Annabeth knew that she'd have to.

"Hogwarts is beautiful, isn't it?" she asked the boy.

"Yes, it's nice," he replied. Annabeth tried harder to talk to him. She was just a talkative person. She looked around, and noticed something move underneath the water.

"Wow, what was that? I think I just saw something move underneath the water."

"That's the squid," the boy finally replied. "My older brother told me about it. He said that the squid would try to attack random students, but I don't believe him. Not totally, anyway. Thing is, you can never tell when he's joking and when he's not." _Yes_. _I got him to talk. If I keep this up, but not quite forcibly, I can make lots of friends here_, Annabeth thought happily.

"I don't think the teachers would have it here if it really could attack us, so don't worry," Annabeth replied brightly. The boy smiled. "What's your name?" Annabeth asked the boy.

"Septimus. Septimus Weasley."

"I'm Annabeth," she replied. She sensed that she couldn't talk to him about anything else, and she, for once, had nothing to say to anyone else, so she was silent the rest of the boat ride, wondering what the Sorting would be like. _Would it be in front of the whole school? _Finally, they got to the school. The kids went in and were lined up alphabetically by someone Annabeth recognized.

"Welcome, children, I'm Professor Dumbledore. I'm the Transfiguration professor," professor Dumbledore said kindly. "Now. You will be filing inside the Great Hall and staying in line until your name is called for the sorting." The children started filing in. Annabeth was nervous. She heard someone saying something about fighting a troll, and she went through her head, trying to recount the spells she had learned from the books. She was near the end of the line, her last name being 'Sharma'. _Thank goodness that Tom isn't that far in front of me, his last name being 'Riddle'_. The students started filing in. When she got into the Great Hall, she looked around. There were four long tables with their respective House banners above them. There seemed to be no ceiling. On her right, she saw a stool with an old, rugged hat on top. _What will we do for the sorting_?

"When I call your name, you will come up, sit on the stool, and try on the hat. Abbott, Myla!" The girl went up, and tried on the hat.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the Hat shouted. Two more kids went up, and then it was Emma's turn. She jammed the hat eagerly on her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the Hat yelled. The Gryffindor table clapped loudly as Emma nearly ran to her table. Annabeth noticed that the Gryffindors looked like the most cheerful and friendly lot. The Slytherins seemed the most calm and subduded. Annabeth hoped to get into Gryffindor, because then she would be surrounded by a friendly and cheerful lot, but if what she'd heard about the houses was true, she wouldn't mind being in Ravenclaw. She hoped that they were atleast a little bit fun, though, because she would now be having fun for the first time in over five years. She would focus on her studies, of course, but she vowed to also have a lot of fun. More kids went up, but Annabeth didn't really pay attention to the names. She was busy observing the people and the Sorting itself. She noticed that the Ravenclaws seemed to always be in thought. _That's not really surprising_, Annabeth thought. She also noticed that the Hufflepuffs seemed pleasant and innocent. _Not a surprise_, either. However, she noticed, and hated to admit it since it sounded like prejudice to her, that the Slytherins mostly seemed pompous, nasty, or both. She realized that while it took a second for the Sorting Hat to sort some people, other times, it took over a minute. Then, it was Tom's turn. She looked hopefully as he went up and proceeded to put the hat on his head, hoping that the outcome wouldn't be what it was in the Harry Potter series her future self had read.

"SLYTHERIN!" the Hat yelled before it was properly on Tom's head. She saw Tom smirk as he headed toward his House table. She sighed. Just because he was in Slytherin didn't mean that he necessarily hated muggles and muggleborns yet, but she knew that she'd have to talk to him soon. Before she knew it, though, it was her turn. Annabeth walked up and put the hat on her head.

"Ah, I see. Oh? You're from a different time? How did that happen?" she heard the Sorting Hat say. "Yes, I know everything about you. Ah, yes. You are willing to sacrifice for your friends. You're quite smart and wise, too. You're unyieldingly loyal to your friends and your memory of a family, but you want to prove yourself, and are quite ambitious. Hmmm... let's see. Where to put you?" the hat wondered. _I trust your judgement completely, and I don't really have any preferences_, Annabeth thought. "That's good," the Hat continued. "But, I think you will be best suited for..."

"GRYFFINDOR!" the Hat yelled. Annabeth beamed. She was with Emma, even if she wasn't with Tom, and hopefully, she'd atleast have some classes with him. She bounded to her house table. The Gryffindors were applauding loudly for her. Annabeth sat by Emma, and looked over at Tom's table. He seemed a little... unhappy, but gave her a small smile. The Septimus Weasley boy, the last kid to be sorted, was sorted into Gryffindor. The headmaster stood up to give a little speech.

"Hello first-years, I am Headmaster Dippet. After dinner, prefects will lead you to you dormitories and will tell you the password. The Forbidden Forest is forbidden to the children. And without further ado, enjoy the feast!" On their plates, a lot of food appeared. Annabeth's mouth watered. This was the best cuisine she'd ever had! _I'll be able to get fat on this stuff_, Annabeth thought pleasantly, as she had no intention of actually getting fat. However, she was too skinny for her age from the orphanage food, so she knew it would be a while before she had to worry about that. After the main course was done, dessert appeared, and Annabeth ate delightfully. She looked over to the Slytherin table and saw Tom enjoying his dinner just as much as she was. She smiled. She talked to Emma and a couple of other kids, but she didn't remember what she had said. When dinner was over, the prefects led the children to their dormitories.

"Bird's beak," the prefect said, and the portrait of the Fat Lady let them in. Annabeth was beyond surprised at the moving and talking portraits, but when she went up to her room, she fell asleep without another thought.


	16. Chapter 15

Tom woke up the next morning in oblivious bliss. _Why am I so comfortable_? He opened his eyes, got a look at his silver and green surroundings, and in that instant, the previous day's events came back to him. _I'm at Hogwarts_! _And I'm a Slytherin_! He got up, saw that most of his dormmates were asleep, and took a long, comfortable, hot shower for the first time in his life. When he combed his hair, he looked in the mirror and realilzed that he looked cleaner than he ever had. He always tried his best at the orphanage, but it was hard when you were only allowed to take showers twice a week and the soaps were often grimy from so many kids using it. Now that his hair was clean and he had used decent shampoo, he saw how it fell nicely, framing his face with dark, silky brown-black strands. Looks had never really mattered to him before, and they didn't matter that much now, but he realized that looks made a big difference in how people initially percieve you. Now that he was in new surroundings with people like him, he wanted to present himself well. Tom smirked. His looks surely wouldn't hurt in this.

He got out and got his books out. They would be recieving their schedules at breakfast, and then they'd head off to their first class after stopping at their dorms for their books. Tom slipped his wand into his uniform pocket. There was no telling when he'd need it, and while they weren't allowed to do magic in the corridors, he would if he had to. From the orphanage, he had learned that you should never leave your defenses down. He heard movement around him as the other kids slowly started waking up. One of the kids in the bed next to Tom's looked at him. He had blond hair and piercing gray eyes.

"Wow, you're up early," the boy remarked.

"I like to be ready for the day before everyone else," Tom replied, not wanting to say that he had to wake up at the orphanage.

"Right," the boy scoffed. "Anyway, aren't you that Riddle boy?" he asked.

"Yes," Tom replied warily. "Why?"

"Hah! Riddle is a muggle last name. No pureblood wizarding families in London are named Riddle. That means we have a half-blood or mudblood Slytherin. How shameful!" Tom realized that that was why the kids in Slytherin were looking at him scornfully. Was this going to be any different than the orphanage? However, he knew that he'd have to be on a good basis with these kids. And if he had a chance at that by lying, why not?

"That just shows how narrow-minded you are. You just automatically assume that I'm British. My parents were both Canadians, and they _were_ pureblood. That's why you haven't heard the Riddles. However, you shouldn't just assume that I was anything but pureblood simply because of my last name." Tom decided that pretending to be Canadian was his best bet because it was a whole ocean away, so this kid probably couldn't verify his lie. Also, it wasn't famous like America, so he wouldn't be hearing much about it, and probably wouldn't find as much research material about pureblood families in Canada.

"Then how come you have a British accent?" _Why does this boy have to pry so much_? Tom sighed in exasperation.

"Because they moved to Britain to raise me. They thought it would be a good environment." Tom held his breath while letting his face take on an impassive look. The boy held out his hand, however.

"I apologize. My name is Abraxas Malfoy." Tom took his hand and shook it.

"Tom. Tom Riddle." And so, Tom made his first new friend at Hogwarts, not counting Emma. Tom didn't really count Emma yet, because she seemed more like Annabeth's friend. When Abraxas and his friends were dressed, Abraxas introduced Tom to them.

"William, Adam, Charlie, this is Tom. Tom Riddle. Tom, this is William, Adam, and Charlie. Guys, he's alright. He's a Canadian pureblood. You know that I would've been able to tell if he was lying." The other guys shook hands with Tom.

"I was excited to come to Hogwarts." One of the kids, William was it, looked at Tom's things.

"How come your robes are so plain? And how come your books are so worn out?" the kids asked.

"My parents were murdered, and I had to grow up in a Muggle orphanage." Tom decided to be partially honest. "I didn't want to tell anybody because I didn't want pity, but I didn't want to lie about why I was poor. Because they hadn't written a will, all of their money went to the government in Canada."

"Oooh, I'm sorry, mate," Abraxas said, not sounding sorry at all. "Anyway, come on. Let's go to breakfast. I'm starving." The boys headed down to breakfast. They ate breakfast and talked about their upcoming classes and teachers.

"That Slughorn," started Abraxas, "is the Potions professor and our Head of House. He's quite an idiot." The others nodded and agreed. Tom noticed that they weren't a group of friends so much as they were a group with Abraxas Malfoy as the leader. _He seems rich, and maybe he has high status. I must get in his good books, and then Malfoy may be, well, a worthy companion_. He knew that to survive in Slytherin, he'd have to be cunning. He started thinking about how he'd do that. Soon, breakfast was over, and the kids had all gotten their schedules. He had Potions first with the Gryffindors, then he had Transfiguration with the Gryffindors... As he looked at his schedule, he realized that he had most of his classes with Gryffindors! He was pleased that Annabeth would be in a lot of his classes. He wanted to be able to talk to her about classes, and since she was in a different house, he'd have to use class time mostly. He wished that Annabeth was in Slytherin, and when the Sorting Hat had taken a long time to Sort her, he was almost sure that she would be in Slytherin, but she got into Gryffindor, Slytherin's enemy house. He didn't really hate the Gryffindors, but his Slytherin friends seemed to hate them. He'd have to find out why.

"Earth to Tom, Earth to Tom," Abraxas said. Tom shook himself out of his daze and looked at Abraxas.

"Hey, Abraxas, I was just curious. Why do Slytherins hate Gryffindors so much?"

"First of all, Gryffindors parade around acting all high and mighty because they are 'oh so brave, daring, and chivalrous'. Also, Gryffindors are the ones who trumpet their support for mudbloods the most. The other houses don't agree with us, either, they don't mind filth entering it, but the Gryffindors encourage it. We believe in keeping the school and the magical world pure. Gryffindors have the most mudbloods and halfbloods, too." Tom considered it. He didn't believe that he was a pureblood, but he didn't think he was muggleborn either. Still, he was glad that he had lied. After all, he had to survive in Slytherin, and they all seemed to hate muggleborns and even halfbloods. He didn't quite agree, because he knew that Annabeth was muggleborn. He realized that Annabeth had mentioned that her future self couldn't do magic, and he wondered how she had gotten her magical ability. Also, Annabeth didn't know that she could do magic until about a year after Tom did, and yet she never judged him or hated him for his magic. But she was the only one. Still, atleast muggleborns couldn't be that bad. He'd approach Malfoy with his viewpoint, but not until he had gotten into his good books. He went up to his dorm, got his books, and went to Potions with Abraxas and William. Charlie and Adam had Charms first.

In potions, professor Slughorn greeted the kids joyfully.

"Welcome children! This is the magnificent class of Potions, where you will learn to brew a variety of liquids that can poison, cure, give you luck, even stopper death! But I have a question for you first. I don't expect many of you to know this, because this is from material taught near the end of the year, but here it is. Where would you look to find a bezoar?" Tom thought, remembering his books, and then raised his hand. He looked around, and saw that Annabeth's hand was raised too. They were the only two people who knew.

"Wow! Two people who know the answer! So, Mr. Riddle," he said, calling on Tom. "What do you think?"

"You'd look in the stomach of a goat," he replied. He saw Annabeth's crestfallen expression. He smirked at her.

"Correct, Mr. Riddle. Ten points for Slytherin. Don't worry, Ms. Sharma. You'll get your turn, too. But for now, let's open our books to page 10." The class opened their books, and Slughorn had them make a simple potion to cure boils.

"Now be sure to follow the directions exactly, for even a small mistake can result in diasterous results." Tom gathered the ingredients and started brewing his potion.

"Annnd time's up!" Slughorn walked around checking everybody's potions. He looked at Tom's potion. "Very nice, very nice," he remarked. Then, he stopped at Annabeth's potion. "Look at Ms. Sharma's potion! It's the perfect shade of green. Excellent job, Ms. Sharma. Take twenty points for Gryffindor for brewing a perfect potion on your first day." Annabeth beamed, and then sent a smirk back at Tom. Tom smiled. This was going to be good. Most of the other children didn't seem that brilliant, but atleast he'd have competition.

**Sorry guys for my progress with each chapter being so slow! I promise that after describing the first day, I'll make time cuts. Please review!**


	17. Chapter 16

Annabeth was thrilled that she had almost all of her classes with Tom. The only class she didn't have with him was History of Magic, and she hated it, so she supposed she wouldn't want to see Tom outsmart her in that subject. Next was Transfiguration. Professor Dumbledore greeted the class brightly and introduced Transfiguration by turning himself into a bird and back again. Tom was sitting next to her. _I'm glad his new Slytherin friends aren't in this class. Atleast now I can talk to him_. Professor Dumbledore then paired kids up and had them turn their matchsticks into needles. Annabeth's partner was Tom.

"I bet I can turn my matchstick into a needle before you can," Tom said.

"Yeah, I bet you can, too," Annabeth replied. Seeing Tom's stunned expression, she quickly said the incantation that professor Dumbledore had taught them. Her matchstick became silver and pointy. She had done it! "Wasn't I right?" she asked Tom sarcastically. Tom quickly turned his matchstick into a needle, but it was too late. The damage had been done. Professor Dumbledore had noticed Annabeth's needle.

"Excellent, Ms. Sharma! Fifteen points to Gryffindor for being the first to perform excellent spellwork quickly!" He then noticed Tom's needle, too. "And fifteen points to Slytherin for the same!" Tom smirked at Annabeth in victory.

"Well, points aren't the only thing that matter. You know that you trying to challenge me ultimately led to me performing the spell first, so that should be a blow on your pride." Annabeth replied. She turned around and saw her friend Emma still struggling with the spell. Emma looked at Annabeth in envy.

"Make your wand movement a little smaller and sharper." Emma tried and got it. Annabeth turned back to Tom. "Tom, are you friends with that blond boy and his cronies who are in your House?" Annabeth whispered.

"Yes, why?" Tom wondered.

"I saw them bullying a girl who mentioned that she was muggleborn." Annabeth watched Tom for his reaction, but to her surprise, he didn't seem to care.

"Yeah, they seem to be a bit more partial to purebloods," he replied. Annabeth was stunned at his indifference.

"But how could you be so callous? It's not her fault that she's muggleborn, and it doesn't really matter. She seems to come from a loving family who sent her to Hogwarts, so that means her parents are Muggles who understand about magic. And does it really matter whether her parents were magic or not? She can do magic, so that's enough. And besides, how would you differentiate between witches & wizards and Muggles in the really olden days, when humans first came along? By seeing who could do magic and who couldn't. Magical ability defines a witch or wizard, not their parentage, so why does it matter!" Annabeth was trying to keep her voice at a whisper, and she succeeded, but it was hard because she was so angry.

"First of all, I'm not prejudiced against muggleborns. I didn't learn about the magical world all through my childhood until I myself could do magic, so I know that that's not in a child's control. Second of all, I may dislike most Muggles until they prove otherwise, but that's because no Muggle has ever treated me well, you know that from the orphanage. Especially after they realize that I can do magic. But I don't outright hate them like the other kids in Slytherin do because you couldn't do magic until way after I did, but you still liked me, you still didn't judge me. For a while, we both thought that you were a Muggle even though we didn't know what that term meant, but even then, you were nice. That proves to me that Muggles can be alright, so I don't hate them until I know that they're gits. But you're not the one who has to survive in Slytherin, I do. And I'm waiting to get into Abraxas' good books before I express my point of view. But before that, I'll need a position of power amongst the Slytherins. I've had to lie and tell them I'm a Canadian pureblood to explain my last name, and since I don't have money, I'll need to figure out something else." Tom said all of this in a low, whispering hiss that Annabeth could just understand, so she knew that they hadn't been overheard. Atleast, no one could understand what they had said.

"Oh. Okay. But then, I should lie about my status too, so that they won't be scornful toward you for hanging out with me. Only Emma knows my true blood-status, and I trust her." Tom nodded in agreement. Class was then over, and professor Dumbledore dismissed them.

The rest of the day was similar to Transfiguration, without their argument. Annabeth sat next to Tom and Emma in almost all of her classes for the day, because they were the only people she knew well up until now. She and Tom both had found their lessons fairly easy, having gotten a good head-start from the books, and both earned points for their houses. At lunch, though, she and Emma had mingled with other fellow Gryffindors. While others were complaining about the homework they had gotten on the first day, Annabeth remarked about how cool it was that atleast they were finally learning magic after having watched their parents either do magic or after not having known about magic at all. 

"Think about it this way. Before, we could see our parents do these things, and now we get to do them. Or, if you're muggleborn, then you can learn to do things your family could only dream of, so atleast there's that. Also, living at Hogwarts itself is worth it." She laughed and joked around with her other House mates, who were happy that she'd bring them House points.

"The Slytherins have got Tom, so atleast we've got you," they remarked. One of the boys elaborated. "Those Slytherins, always going on about pure blood. We want to prove that that's not important at all, but it would've been hard if they had a smart person, whatever his blood status. By the way, are you pureblood? It would be so cool if you were muggleborn. That way, we could show them that there was a muggleborn smarter than all of those high-and-mighty purebloods in their house." The boy had straight but messy and unruly black hair that stood up, black-framed glasses with circular lenses, and a bright smile. Annabeth agreed with him, but remembered what she had told Tom, and realized that that was more important.

"No, unfortunately, I'm pureblood. My parents belong to an old, Indian pureblood family, but I was born in America, so my name is American." Annabeth lied smoothly. _Hmmm... maybe the Sorting Hat was right in the fact that I could've been in Slytherin_, Annabeth thought. _Lying well marks cunningness_. The boy's face fell, but he smiled again.

"Wow, I forgot to ask you your name, and I've been talking to you for all of this time. What's your name?" he asked.

"Annabeth. Annabeth Sharma." she replied. She held out her hand, and the boy shook it.

"Edward. Edward Potter." Annabeth decided right away that she liked the boy. He seemed kind, friendly, and bubbly. But then again, a lot of Gryffindors were like that. She knew that she was going to enjoy being in Gryffindor. And as she was talking and smiling, she realized that her feelings for Tom were fading away. She still thought of him as her best friend, because he was kind and she trusted him the most, she didn't have a crush on him anymore. She was glad. _He doesn't seem like the kind of person to have crushes anyway, so I don't think that he would've liked me. And anyways, I'm around kids who like to enjoy their life. While I'll be sure not to ignore Tom because he is still my friend, I will make other friends._ _Figures that me not liking Tom anymore corresponds with my future counterpart not liking her crush anymore_. Later, when classes were over, she went up to Tom.

"I think it would be nice if we did our homework together." Annabeth remarked.

"Why? Because you want to cheat off of my answers?" Tom asked teasingly.

"The way you're saying it, it sounds like you had that idea." Annabeth teased back. "But I thought that it would be a good way to spend time together. I mean, we're in different houses, and I'm just kind of worried that our friendship might drift apart. We've been friends for five years, and I don't want that to change," Annabeth said, her voice a little bit sad now at the thought of losing a five-year-long friendship. "And, okay, I was hoping that you could give me help on the History of Magic homework. I mean, I hate it, so I can't write on and on like I can for other subjects." Annabeth said, trying to lighten up the mood.

"Okay, but you have to help me in Astronomy. I know we haven't had class yet, but you'll still probably do better because I know that you like astronomy," said Tom.

"Alright. But please don't tell me the wrong answers. Or else I won't help you. I mean, we can compete in class, but outside, we should help each other if we need it. The only reason I say this is because I don't like taking help unless I absolutely need it, and I know that you're the same."

"What if I do give you the wrong answers?" Tom asked.

"Then I won't help you, and our bad marks in our homework assignments will show that we're both bad in one subject. Our scores will still be even, so wouldn't you rather have everyone else think that we're both good in all subjects? And besides, we won't copy off of each other's essays and homework, we'll help each other so that we actually understand the assignment." _I've made a pretty convincing speech, if I do say so myself_, Annabeth thought. Tom agreed. They did their homework together, helping each other, and taking a little break between several paragraphs to talk about their Houses and their other friends. Soon, they were done with about half of their homework. At dinner, Annabeth talked to the Gryffindors, who were all discussing their home life. She listened to others, remarking on the funny incidents that they talked about. When they asked about her life, Annabeth became quiet.

"My parents died when I was six, and I've grown up in a Muggle orphanage since then. That's where I met Tom," Annabeth remembered. She knew that Tom had told Abraxas about growing up in a Muggle orphanage, so she knew that it was safe to tell her fellow Gryffindors about meeting Tom there.

"Oh, so that explains your competitiveness. I figured that it had strong roots," Emma replied. Annabeth laughed and enjoyed her dinner and dessert. She felt so light for the first time in a long time. She was happy. She had found more friends. She finally belonged someplace. And she was happy that Tom was here too, because he, like her, belonged here. Later, she fell asleep, tired and happy.


	18. Chapter 17

Tom fell into a nice routine at Hogwarts. He went to his classes, where he and Annabeth competed for the top spot in class, had lunch with his Slytherin 'friends', did his homework with Annabeth, and spent the rest of the little time left with said Slytherin 'friends'. There was a lot of homework, but he didn't mind. While he didn't love homework, as most people believed, he was a perfectionist, and did his utmost best to attain full marks on his assignments. Annabeth would help him with Astronomy, and, because he understood her point earlier, he helped her with History of Magic. One day, Gryffindors and Slytherins were having a class together that Tom was dreading. It was a class that they didn't have books for, a class where you couldn't learn what was taught out of a book. You could try, but ultimately, it came down to natural ability. Tom didn't want to make a fool out of himself in front of the Gryffindors because he knew that most of them wouldn't miss a chance to make fun of a Slytherin. He couldn't blame them; after all, most were too pompous and focused on blood status, and he had to pretend to be like that around his friends right now, so the Gryffindors didn't know the real him. But Tom was still scared of this class. He dreaded the day they'd learn to fly on a broomstick.

The next day came all too quickly, and soon, Tom was outside with several Slytherins and Gryffindors. They were all standing next to brooms and were waiting for instructions.

"I'm Madam Hooch. First, you should hold out your hand above the broom and say 'up'." Everyone did so. Tom's broom rolled around on the ground. He looked around and saw that Annabeth's broom in her hands and a smile on her face. Tom said 'up' about five times before the broomstick flew up unevenly, smacked his hand, and he caught it. Then, when everyone tried flying, Tom pushed off, but the broomstick kept wobbling and threatening to throw him off. He leaned forward and landed, realizing that this was one class he wouldn't dominate in. _Oh well, flying is useless, there are other ways to get around_, Tom thought, but he was upset about not being able to fly well, especially since his broomstick looked in as good a condition as Annabeth's. Annabeth, though, had managed to get the hang of flying, and was flying in loops in the air. _She will never let me live this down_. He was right, but since girls couldn't try out for Quidditch yet, it was a moot point, since Tom didn't try out and Annabeth couldn't. When no one else was around, she complained about how she probably could've tried out for Quidditch in her time, but Tom reminded her that her future self couldn't even do magic, and that issue was over. Annabeth dragged him to the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin game, and since Tom didn't really wear green robes to express team spirit, he sat with the Gryffindors. Annabeth cheered when Gryffindor scored, and as the game went on, Tom found that it was relatively interesting watching people fly around on a broom. He wasn't much of a sports fan, but watching people flying and throwing the ball in midair, he imagined, was difficult, and he admired the players for that, even if he didn't enjoy sports in itself.

Most of the year passed quickly. During Christmas break, he and Annabeth were two of the few kids who had stayed behind for the holidays. Christmas was the best he'd ever had. Tom had gotten presents from Malfoy and some of his friends, and he decided to ask if Annabeth had gotten any presents either. When Annabeth came to the Great Hall, though, Tom didn't recognize her. He was used to her straight hair, but it was still choppy, as she had never gotten a proper haircut since her time at the orphanage. However, now it was neat and in layers. Her glasses were gone, and he now noticed that her eyes were the color of dark chocolate.

"New spellwork, huh?" he remarked, trying to hide his surprise. He knew that many girls were concerned with their appearance, but their over-concern made them look pretty in a cheesy, common way, with their makeup overdone and their uniforms 'conveniently adjusted' to show off their figure. Annabeth, however, had kept it simple but nice.

"Yeah," Annabeth replied, breaking him out of his thoughts. "Emma had given me the book I had seen at Flourish and Blotts that one time for Christmas, and I decided to try out some of the spells. The spell to straighten hair permanently was queer, and the transformation felt weird, like there were bugs moving around in my scalp. It was worth it, though. And I decided that I needed a haircut. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I made you something." She pulled out two watches and gave Tom one. "You press this button here, and I'll know that you want to talk to me. You say something, and I'll hear it. We can send messages this way, and if we want to find each other, we can." Tom put on the watch.

"Thank you, Annabeth. I love it." She smiled. He then took out his present to her. It was a delicate silver necklace with a glittering silver butterfly at the end. Annabeth gasped.

"Wow, it's beautiful Tom. Thank you!" Tom was happy.

Soon, the whole year had passed. Exams were over, and Tom and Annabeth had survived better than the others. Tom had enjoyed it, and while Annabeth didn't enjoy the written exams, she liked the ones where they had to perform actual spells. It was the last day, and as Tom was about to say goodbye to Malfoy and his group, he saw them bullying a fellow first year.

"Why are you bothering her?" he asked.

"She's a mudblood. She shouldn't even dare to come to this school. She doesn't belong in the wizarding world, and yet she had the audacity to step on my foot!" Malfoy yelled angrily. Tom saw the girl whimper. She was rather petite, and Tom imagined that Malfoy's cronies seemed physically intimidating.

"I said I was sorry!" the girl squeaked.

"She apologized, didn't she?" Tom said angrily to Malfoy. "And I've tried all year to understand your hatred of muggleborns. I'm pureblood, but that doesn't mean that I'm any better than her simply because of her parentage. And tell me this, Malfoy -" Tom hissed "- what makes you pureblood? The fact that your parents, grandparents, and so on could do magic. Ultimately, when you get to the end of your family tree, what makes those ancestors witches and wizards? The fact that they could do magic, same as any muggleborn witch or wizard today! So a muggleborn witch or wizard is every bit as magical as your ancestors that you are so proud of. Muggleborns are as magical as you! And you may have grown up knowing about the wizarding world, but that doesn't mean that muggleborns can't learn! And I suggest that you think about this with a clear, unprejudiced mind. Forget for one minute about your status in the Wizarding world and think about this. Oh, and I had come to say 'see you next September'." Tom left then. He sat next to Annabeth, who was talking to Emma, a black-haired boy with glasses who he was was sure was called 'Potter', and one of the boy's friends.

"Where were you?" Annabeth asked. He quietly told her what happened.

"See guys! He's not a typical Slytherin. Even as a pureblood, he recognizes that muggleborns are just as good as us. I think the only reason that he never said much in the past was because he had to survive in Slytherin." The Gryffindors, who up until now had been looking at him warily, smiled at him and started talking to him. Tom realized that the Gryffindors were quite relaxed, and while he found some of their conversations pointless, he was able to relax around them. He didn't have to be uptight like he had to be around Slytherins. Tom smiled. They were in London too soon, but he couldn't wait to go back home. Home to Hogwarts.


	19. Chapter 18

Annabeth sighed. She was back at the stinky orphanage. She was so used to the hot meals at Hogwarts that the house-elves cooked that she wasn't sure how she was going to survive on cold leftover soup for two months. She missed Hogwarts. She missed the food, the classes (even History of Magic; imagine!), but she missed Emma and Edward most of all. Emma was her second-best friend (second only to Tom), and in some ways, she was better simply because she was a girl and because some things simply can't be discussed with boys. Edward had also grown to be a good friend, and he was just so nice, sweet, and funny! Edward was also carefree, something that Tom wasn't, and while she didn't judge him for that at all, she liked how she felt light-hearted around Edward, as if she didn't have a care in the world. Annabeth remembered how she'd feel excited whenever she saw him in class or at mealtimes. She remembered how her heart would leap whenever Edward caught the Snitch, and she'd cheer for him at the Quidditch matches. Now, she missed him. She couldn't wait to see him again, to see his dark, black, unruly hair, his stunning blue eyes framed by his black glasses, his bright smile... _Am I fantasizing about him again_? Annabeth had often had thoughts about Edward like this, but she assured herself that it was nothing. However, her future self, who had had a crush on Brandon last year and still liked him, insensitively reminded her that that was the way she had felt before she realized that she liked Brandon, and that Annabeth did like Edward. Finally, Annabeth just admitted it to herself, waiting eagerly for both Emma's and Edward's owls.

Annabeth looked up later when she heard a tapping at the window. She and Tom were reviewing their old magic books, having nothing else to do until they could get their supplies for next year. And while they had money from the school, they couldn't buy supplies until the lists were mailed to them. They couldn't do magic either, so Tom and Annabeth were stuck reading their books. Annabeth looked up, and saw two owls each holding two letters in their beaks. She opened the window and let them in. The owls brought a total of two letters adressed to Annabeth and two adressed to Tom. Annabeth handed them to him.

"Yay! Emma and Edward have finally written to me! And look! You've got letters too!" Annabeth nearly squealed in delight.

"I've got letters?" Tom said in a surprised tone.

"Of course you've got letters! I'm sure that Emma and Edward really like you now that they know that you're not like most other Slytherins. Open up your letters!" Annabeth opened one of her letters. This was from Emma.

'_Dear Annabeth,_

_How are you? I know that you wouldn't like it at the orphanage, so I decided to invite you and Tom to my place. I've also invited Edward, and we are going to Spain. I want you both to come along. I know now that Tom is a nice person, so I want to get to know him better, and you and Edward are my best friends. I think you'll rather enjoy Edward's company, whatever you tell me. My owl will be waiting for your reply. You and Tom can reply in one letter. Hope to see you soon!_

_Your dear friend,_

_Emma_'

"Isn't this great Tom! Emma invited us to her house, and we'll go to Spain!"

"Wow! She invited me too? She's nice," Tom murmured.

"Yes! And Edward's coming too! Isn't that great?" Annabeth said excitedly.

"Yeah, I'm sure that you're happy," Tom said with a smirk.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Annabeth asked indignantly.

"Come on. I've seen the way you look at him, the way you talk about him. I know that you like him, and to be honest, I'm surprised. I didn't think that you seemed the type."

"The type to _what_? Like guys? Just because I'm not overly concerned with beauty doesn't mean that I don't care a little bit, just because I am smart doesn't mean that I can't be girly as well, and just because I talk to you more about academics than anything else doesn't mean that I can't be horomonal, can't be interested in guys!" Annabeth replied hotly.

"So you admit that you like Edward, do you?" Tom replied. Annabeth seemed at a loss for words, but finally, she relented.

"Yes," she whispered. "I do, and I can't wait. You will come along too, though, won't you? I mean, you're my best friend, and I don't think I'd have as much fun without you. But if you don't like Edward and Emma, you don't have to say yes," Annabeth said reluctantly, though she hoped that he would. Edward and Emma were really nice, and even if Tom thought that they were overly cheerful or something, going on vacation with them would surely be better than staying at the orphanage, right? Annabeth watched Tom's face, waiting for his reaction.

"Yes, I'll come. It'll be better than the orphanage, and I'll get to know Edward and Emma better. Maybe we might become friends. Wow, they're so lucky to be able to have enough money to pay for our vacation as well as their own, and I'm not even totally their friend." Tom said wistfully.

"Maybe, but everyone has problems and thinks that others' lives are better. My...future self... her, well my family was middle-class. We weren't rich like Emma and Edward, but we were pretty well off. My parents were saving up money for me to go to college because they didn't want me to worry about working to pay for college. I had extra-curriculars, and my clothes were good, so we were well off. But, a lot of times, I felt that I would give it all away if people liked me more, if I was more loved, if I was understood well. My family did love me, but they didn't understand me, which bothered me. While I do miss my family, I realize that I like it here better. Here, in Britain, even at the orphanage, it's better. Why? Because I have Hogwarts to look forward to. They understand me, so I feel perfectly at ease to be myself, something that's easier without my parents and, well, around you and Emma and Edward." Annabeth said. She tried to imply in unspoken words, however, that it was mostly Tom she was at ease around, because he had been in her life longer. She was at ease around Emma and Edward, but they weren't at the orphanage. At the orphanage, there was only Tom. Tom seemed to figure that out, though, and he smiled. His smile turned into a frown, though.

"So you needed human company so badly that you're happier without much money, and without your family?" Tom asked.

"I may not _need_ the company of others, and I can keep myself occupied without it, but that doesn't mean that being around others can't be nice, or plesant? That I can't envy others for having that pleasure? Surely you would know that Tom, right? Or else you wouldn't put up with me." Annabeth said, raising her eyebrows, as she couldn't raise one eyebrow. She saw Tom thinking.

"You're right. Being around others is nice. So, you're coming?" Annabeth asked. In response, Tom leafed through his old school supplies and took out a piece of parchment and a quill. He started writing in his elegant script.

'_Emma,_

_Annabeth and I would like to spend the summer at your place. Thank you for inviting us._

_Tom' _

Tom gave the letter to the owl and nodded. The owl flew off.

"Thanks, Tom," Annabeth said sincerely.

"You're welcome. And you haven't opened Edward's letter yet." Tom said playfully. Annabeth rolled her eyes and opened his letter.

'_Hey Annabeth,_

_Emma probably told you about how I'm going to stay at her place and we're going to go on vacation to Spain from there, but I wanted to write to you anyways. How are you? I hope that you'll come and spend the summer with us. Maybe, when we come back from Spain, we can fly around on our broomsticks and play Quidditch. I know how much you like flying and Quidditch. Hope you come!_

_Your buddy,_

_Edward' _

Annabeth's heart beat up at the letter. She turned to see Tom reading his letters with a small smile.

Next morning, Annabeth heard some voices approaching her room. The door opened, and she saw Mrs. Cole, with Emma and the woman who she had seen at Madam Malkin's last year. There was also a man who Annabeth assumed was Emma's father.

"You're here!" Annabeth squealed. Mrs. Cole cleared her throat.

"This young lady -" Mrs. Cole started, pointing to Emma "- says that she knows you from your school, and that she's here to take you and Tom to spend the summer at her place. She said that you knew about it, and us people at the orphanage have no problem with this arrangement." Annabeth beamed.

"Come on!" Emma said excitedly. "Let's go get Tom." Annabeth grabbed her bag, which she'd packed right after Tom replied to the letter, and went to get Tom. Tom got his bag too, and they walked out of the orphanage.

"Okay," Emma's dad said. "I'll take Tom with Side-Along Apparation, and you take Annabeth and Emma." Before Annabeth or Tom could ask what Side-Along Apparation was, each parent grabbed the respective kid, turned on the spot, and the last thing Annabeth heard was a loud POP before she felt a queasy sensation of being pulled between two places. They landed in a well, ornately-furnished room.


	20. Chapter 19

Tom bit his tongue to keep himself from gasping at the richly-furnished room, and succeeded. From his right, he heard Annabeth gasp.

"Wow! This house is beautiful!" He heard her exclaim.

"Thank you," said Emma's father. "So we'll be staying here for a couple of days and then we'll head off to Spain." Tom heard someone come running into the room. It was Edward. Tom turned to Annabeth and smirked slightly. Annabeth blushed. She went over to Edward.

"Hey Edward! I'm so glad to see you!" She looked as if she was about to hug him, but at the last minute, she settled for just waving at him. It was kind of funny, and Emma was laughing, but Tom felt disgruntled for some reason. _Why is she that excited to see him? Does fancying someone really have that much of an effect on you? I hope that never happens to me. I don't want to act foolish_! _What's so great about him? I mean, she's never that excited to see me_! He thought the final line with a pang, but quickly shook it off. _You don't need to be needed by anyone_, he reminded himself. _Remember, you know from the first six years of your life that you can't rely on anyone. People always let you down. And besides, I shouldn't be so upset. Annabeth's not being mean, rude, or anything to me. She's just a little more excited to see a friend she doesn't see all the time, who she also happens to fancy. She hasn't let you down_. He walked over and said hi to Edward.

Tom didn't realize how the rest of the day passed. He ate quite a bit, already missing good food at Hogwarts, and realized that the food at Emma's was better than at Hogwarts. He joined in a little bit of conversation with Emma, Edward, and Annabeth, talking a little about the extra magic that he and Annabeth had learned over the course of the year, from reading the books in the library. Soon, though, he realized that he couldn't really talk to Emma and Edward as well as he could with Annabeth, that they were more interested in Quidditch and the likes, and that even though he tried, he couldn't make himself like these things. His idea of fun was different from others, and only Annabeth's idea of fun mirrored both Tom's and other kids' ideas of fun. He was comfortable around her. He felt his heart pang with...something...as he looked at Annabeth. It was an unfamiliar feeling, and he wasn't sure what it meant. He decided to go find a book to read to distract himself.

"Do you have any books I might be able to read?" Tom asked Emma.

"Well, I think you are quite capable of reading English, and since it's the language everyone here also speaks, I should think that you will be able to read all of our books," Emma replied cheekily. "But yes, we have a whole library. Down the hall and to the left, actually. It's quite easy to find." Tom went to find it, and he gasped. The library was huge and just as grand as the rest of the house. He practically ran in there and got out all of the books.

The next couple of days passed the same way, and soon, everyone was heading off to Spain. When they got there, they checked into a muggle hotel.

"Thought we should see Muggle Spain before seeing Wizarding Spain. Muggle Spain is quite good, too." Emma's mom stated. They went to a museum about World War I. Everything was written in Spanish, but Emma's dad took out six pieces of parchment.

"These will translate whatever you read, and they'll look like tour guides to Muggles." Emma's dad said. Tom couldn't help but admire that bit of magic. He'd have to learn how to do that. They wandered around for a while, Emma and Edward talking and gasping at some of the more gruesome facts about the war, Tom reading the facts with a mild interest, and Annabeth doing both. "Okay," Emma's dad said. "You guys are all twelve, so I think -"

"We think," Emma's mom interrupted.

"Of course. We think that you guys can explore the museum for a little bit on your own. But stay together, the four of you. We'll meet up in the cafe in about an hour." The kids were happy at this little bit of freedom that they had. They walked off. Emma and Edward seemed surprised at the guns, and Tom and Annabeth had to hold back chuckles as they explained what they thought was the simple concept of guns and how they worked. Soon, Tom had to go to the bathroom.

"I'll be back." He said. "I have to go to the bathroom." The others nodded. They went with him and stood at the door. When Tom came out, though, he was surprised. They weren't there. He wondered where they were, but his question was answered instantly as he heard a muffled squeal from somewhere to his left. He turned and saw, in the dark empty hallway, Annabeth, a Muggle holding her arms firmly as he looked through her pockets for money. He looked and saw Edward and Emma suffering a similar fate. The Muggles' backs were to him, though, so Tom realized that he could do something. However, he knew that, atleast in Britain, underage magic could be detected, and if detected in the Muggle world, wizards and witches could be punished. He also knew, however, that only magic could be detected, not the perpetrator, and since Emma's parents were around, they could simply say that they had done it. However, he wasn't sure about the laws in Spain, and wasn't sure whether the magic's perpetrator could be detected here. He also knew that he needed to think of something _fast_. He did the smartest thing he thought he could do - he ran and got the attention of the closest Muggles.

"Help me! There are thieves there; theyr'e stealing from my friends." The Muggles, thank goodness, ran and approached the thieves.

"Give them their money back," the Muggles Tom had approached snarled. The thieves, thank goodness, looked scared and gave the kids their money back without a fight. The three kids smiled at the Muggles who helped them.

"Thank you," they said politely, Tom a bit more sullen than the rest.

"You're welcome," the Muggles replied, and then they left.

"We should go back to Mum and Dad," Emma said in a scared tone. The others agreed, and they pushed the button on a little device that they carried with them. "Mum, Dad, let's meet up at the cafe now." Emma said urgently. "I'll explain later." Then, the children headed off. The kids looked shaken, but Tom seemed the most upset of them all.

"I know what happened must've scared you, Tom, but what's wrong? You seem very upset." Annabeth said gently.

"Huh? Oh, it was just scary, seeing what happened," Tom replied vaguely. But many thoughts were running through his mind. First, he was upset at the laws that said that they couldn't use magic around Muggles. If the Muggles were bad and ill-intentioned, and maybe strong physically, then magic was the only advantage that an underage wizard or witch had, and they should be able to use it. _Not all Muggles are good. As a matter of fact, nearly all of the Muggles I know aren't good, and only Annabeth and the Muggles that helped me today have kept me from utterly despising Muggles, because she was nice to me before she knew that she could do magic as well_. But the thing that scared him more was the feeling of utter helplessness he had felt. Even if he disregarded the laws about doing magic in front of Muggles, he had still felt helpless for a second simply because he forgot about magic for that split second and didn't know how to save his friends. He realized that, in that moment, he was weak because the Muggles had people who were dear to him as hostage. _Having more people in my life surely adds to worry_, he thought. And, while he didn't want to admit it, he probably wouldn't have panicked as much, worried as much, if Annabeth wasn't in trouble. _If it was just Emma and Edward, I probably would've tried to get Emma's parents here by that little device that they had given me. But because Annabeth was there, I had to help instantaneously. I couldn't not_. He realized that he didn't want Annabeth to be hurt at all, and that if anyone bad realized that, they could use her against me. That was a weakness, and he didn't want that. He couldn't tell Annabeth all of that, though. She wouldn't understand. She seemed ready to embrace that weakness to have others in her life. _What should I do about this_, Tom asked himself.


	21. Chapter 20

Annabeth was shaken from the day's events. When Emma explained what happened, Mr. and Mrs. Bell had panicked.

"Oh my god! I'm not letting you guys out of my sight for the rest of the trip!" Emma's mom exclaimed. The rest of the trip passed quickly. Annabeth didn't realize it when it was time to go back to Britain. She had an amazing and fun time with Emma and Edward. Tom seemed distant, though, after the incident. He seemed to enjoy the trip too, but not really with the rest of them. He was even quieter than usual, and while he used talk to Annabeth, or atleast respond when she'd ask him something before, now he just didn't say anything. Annabeth worried initially, but later, she decided not to worry about it. _He'll come around eventually, and I don't want to ruin my limited time with Emma and __Edward__ for something which I can't do anything about. I'll try to figure it out later_. So Annabeth had a good time talking with Emma and Edward, and she even tried flirtiing with Edward a bit. She was sure that she looked like an idiot when she did that, but Emma assured her that she was fine, and Edward didn't react weirdly, so Annabeth was happy. Her future self was getting discouraged time after time because guys let her down, but she still had a good feeling about Edward. The three of them did their homework together, and they had a good time. Before they realized it, it was time for school. They had already bought school supplies, and were boarding the Hogwarts' Express. Tom sat with Annabeth, Edward, Emma and some of their other friends, but Tom was quiet except for the occasional reply when someone remarked on Tom standing up for the muggleborn student last year.

At the feast, the students now waited for what seemed like forever as the first years came, and felt sorry for the older kids last year who had to wait for her and the other first-years. The rest of the day passed quickly. Annabeth was deep in conversation with other Gryffindors, many who complemented her on her appearance. Emma's mom had given her a new "haircut" with magic, and Annabeth had to admit that she looked nice, and that her hair looked even better now that someone else had "cut" it. She blushed when Edward agreed with another person who had complimented Annabeth.

"Yeah, you do look pretty," he had agreed. "Not that you don't always look nice, but you look different, and it's a good different, so..." he trailed off, looking a bit embarrased. So Annabeth was happy when she woke up the next morning. She decided to do something different with her stick-straight hair, and she curled it. She wore a bit of mascara that Emma had given her and put on medium pink lip gloss. She believed that this much make-up wouldn't harm her skin, and it would look natural but good. At breakfast, she got her schedule. To her delight, Emma was in all of her classes. Edward was only in half of her classes, which upset her. She went up to Tom, and asked him to compare schedules with her. She thought she saw a flicker of surprise when Tom looked at her, but his eyes looked impassive a second later. To her surprise, Tom did. He seemed a bit awkward around the rest of the Slytherins, but he seemed normal towards her, which was good. Annabeth also shared all of her classes with Tom. Her classes were not that much different than last year. The holidays' homework was turned in, and Annabeth found the things that they were learning in most classes easy since she had looked through the books beforehand. History of Magic, Herbology, and now the new Care of Magical Creatures were boring subjects, so Annabeth didn't excel in those classes like Tom did - after all, Tom excelled in all of his classes - but she didn't really care. After all, she was pretty sure what she wanted to be when she grew up, and it didn't require excessive knowledge in those subjects. Later, Annabeth decided to talk to Tom. She wondered if she should ask him why he had been odd these past months, but decided not to, at least not right then.

"Do you want to do homework together again? Like last year? I think that that arrangement had worked out quite well," Annabeth asked.

"Sure," Tom replied. "It did work out nicely, and we got to talk," he said. After working in silence for a while, though, Annabeth asked Tom what she had wanted to ask him for a long time.

"Tom, I am your friend. I have known you for six years. Why were you avoiding me?" Annabeth asked. "I mean, I don't think I did anything wrong, but I want to know if I unknowningly offended you or anything. I didn't mean to." Tom gave her a thoughtful glance, and then replied.

"You didn't offend me. I was just thinking that I didn't mix well with Emma and Edward, while you did. I wanted you to talk to them more, because I know that they're your good friends, and I was worried that you wouldn't spend time with them if you worried about leaving me out. If I acted like I didn't want to talk to you either, then I figured that you would talk to your friends more." Tom replied.

"Wow, Tom, you're a great friend." Annabeth said, her voice thick with emotion.

**Please tell me how I'm doing with the character development. I figured that Annabeth would've changed Tom atleast a little in the past six years, but I had to keep a bit of the traits of canon Tom. Do review!**


	22. Chapter 21

Tom was deep in his thoughts. He felt guilty for lying to Annabeth, but he couldn't tell her what he was really thinking. He knew that Annabeth would think he was being stupid, and he couldn't have anyone thinking that he was stupid. Tom also pondered upon Annabeth's change. She had curled her hair, and she was wearing makeup, albeit a little. He had never thought that Annabeth would sink to the girly lengths of caring about her appearance to that extent, but he had to agree with himself that she looked nice. Tom was walking back to his dormitory after dinner when a sudden thought struck him. His mother had died during childbirth, so she couldn't be a witch, but he could speak Parseltongue, so he shouldn't be muggleborn because, well, Parseltongue was a rare ability attributed to wizards. But he knew that he was named after his father, and the Slytherins had acted as if Tom Riddle was a Muggle name, so was his father actually a muggle or a muggleborn? He decided to ask professor Dumbledore, who seemed like he would be the most knowledgeable about the past students of Hogwarts, since he couldn't bother Headmaster Dippet to ask what the headmaster would surely consider a question that was a waste of his time. So, the next day in Transfiguration, Tom stayed behind after class.

"Professor? Can I please ask you something?" Tom asked.

"You have just asked me something, but yes, you may ask another question." Professor Dumbledore replied. Tom had to resist from rolling his eyes.

"My father's name was Tom Riddle. Do you know if he was ever here at Hogwarts?" Tom asked tenatively.

"No Tom, I'm sorry. I have never heard of such a student. I'm sorry." Professor Dumbledore said gently. But Tom would not be deterred. Maybe professor Dumbledore forgot. After all, he couldn't remember every single student that ever walked through the doors. Later in the library, Tom saw Annabeth.

"Sorry, Annabeth, but I can't do my homework with you. I have to look for something." Tom said curtly.

"Can I help? I would like to, if there's anything I can do." Annabeth replied, surprising Tom. He was about to refuse. After all, he was Tom Marvolo Riddle, and he didn't need help from anyone. But he stopped and realized that Annabeth wouldn't think any lower of him for helping him, and it would be more effective if two people were doing the detective work.

"Alright. I want to know about my father. He must've been a wizard, and I want to know about his life at Hogwarts. You can check the trophy rooms and the list of prefects to find a Tom Riddle, and I'll look in the books on Wizarding history." Annabeth nodded, and then she left. Tom looked through the library for books on Wizarding history. For the next couple of days, the two friends looked for a Tom Riddle every free moment they had after finishing their homework.

"Tom, I didn't find anything in the awards rooms or the list of prefects," Annabeth said sadly a couple of days later.

"Well, maybe you can help me look in these Wizarding history books. I've gotten through a bit of one of the books, but there are lots of books, and you can help me look through the rest," Tom said, pausing on the help, a point that Annabeth didn't miss. She just looked at him a bit though before she picked up another of the books.

"Alright Tom. You know, helping you look for you dad makes me feel like I'm looking for my own dad. Maybe it's because I havent seen my own dad for six years. And I have known you for a long time, since we were both young, that you..." Annabeth mumbled something, trailing off at the end.

"What?" Tom asked.

"Well, I feel like you're practically my brother," Annabeth confessed. She thought about something, and got a faraway look in her eyes. She smiled and started humming.

"What happened?" Tom wondered.

"Oh, it was just that I had said 'we were both young' a second ago, and it reminded me of the first words of a song. The future me -" Annabeth said the last part quietly "- likes this song called 'Love Story', and I have to admit that it's a nice song." Annabeth went back to the books, humming happily. Tom shook his head. Despite knowing Annabeth for so long, he couldn't understand her sometimes. _Girls are so strange sometimes_, he thought. Another couple of days passed as they looked through the books together. It almost took them a week for the two of them to get through the books because they had a lot of homework. Finally, the duo closed the last books that they were on.

"I didn't find anything, did you?" Tom asked, knowing that Annabeth probably hadn't found anything, or else she probably would have told him as soon as she had found it.

"Well, Tom, I didn't find anything about your father. Of couse, remember that these books cover mostly British wizarding families and a couple other ones from around the world, so maybe it's possible that your father was from an old wizarding family from somewhere else in the world. However, I did find something that I think might be valuable." Tom's breath caught in his throat.

"What? Don't keep me in suspense, spit it out!" Tom exclaimed.

"Didn't you tell me once that Marvolo was your grandfather's name?" Tom nodded.

"Did you find him or something in there?" Tom asked eagerly.

"Yes." Annabeth smiled a little at this. "And you'll never believe this."

"What?"

"If your grandfather Marvolo is the same Marvolo that I found in one of the books, then... you're the Heir of Slytherin!" To say that Tom was surprised was an understatement. However, as Tom always did, he tried to disguise it as mere interest. Annabeth handed him a book that Tom now noticed she had kept aside from the rest of the books. Tom opened the pages and skimmed through until he found Salazar Slytherin's family tree.

"It would be much easier if the books had a table of contents," Annabeth remarked lightly.

"What's that?" Tom asked.

"It's a list in the beginning that lists each chapter and the page it starts on. Very helpful Muggle concept." Tom agreed mentally and started reading.

_A trait that characterizes Salazar Slytherin's descendants is the ability to speak Parseltongue, or 'Snakes' Language'. It was believed that Merope Gaunt married a Muggle, but that was never confirmed, and it was never known if they had a child, so it is believed that the Slytherin line ends with Merope Gaunt and Morfin Gaunt. They used to live in Little Hangleton, but Morfin now is in Azkaban and Merope is believed to be dead_.

"She isn't just believed to be dead, she is dead." Tom said lifelessly. He saw Annabeth look at him sadly, but then her face lit up.

"Hah! Don't you see? Have those Slythern's been bothering you? You have more of a right to be in Slytherin than anybody else! You can speak Parseltongue in front of them, and they'll realize that they don't deserve to be in what they think is the 'greatest house' as much as you do." Tom saw Annabeth get a sad look in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Tom asked.

"This doesn't change anything?" Annabeth asked timidly.

"Change what?"

"You know. Your opinion on muggles and muggleborns and even half-bloods." Annabeth looked at Tom eagerly for his answer. Tom thought about it. On the one hand, the Muggles at the orphanage had been unbearably unpleasant to him for no reason, and would have been even more so when they saw him do magic if he hadn't used it against them. His father was a Muggle - he was sure of it because of the book and the Slytherins' statement about his name being a Muggle name - and he had left him at the orphanage. As if she could read his mind, Annabeth piped up.

"Maybe your father also, you know, died. It's possible that that's why he didn't come for you. You should try to research him a bit more before you hold a grudge against him. Try looking at Little Hangleton. Maybe you might find him there." Annabeth suggested. Looking at her, he saw that she had always been there for him, even when she couldn't do magic. Since he knew a lot more unpleasant Muggles than nice ones, he had to constantly remind himself of Annabeth. He supposed that, now that more and more wizards were muggleborns and half-bloods, more and more Muggles were getting to know about the magical world, and based on what he had heard from muggleborn and half-blood students, their parents were accepting it rather well. _I guess Muggles are getting more and more open-minded. But I think that students with nonl-magical families should learn about the magical world before coming to Hogwarts or other wizarding schools. It would make things easier for everyone_.

"No, Annabeth." Tom finally replied. "It hasn't changed anything."


	23. Chapter 22

Annabeth was assured for now. Her future self had gotten around to reading **Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince**, and in that book, she had discovered the truth about Tom's mother and father, and a bit about what Tom would've done in the future. She had learned about Merope Gaunt's passionate, unreturned love for Tom Riddle. _Kind of the way my future self feels about Brandon_, Annabeth thought ruefully. She had learned about how Merope had a horrible family life with her father and brother. She learned how Merope, once she was finally free, used her magic to make Tom Riddle fall in love with her. She learned about how he had left her once she had lifted the enchantments, and how Merope was left on the streets with an unborn baby, having lost the will to live and having died once Tom was born. Along with all of that, she had also learned about how Tom killed his father and his father's family. _He still might do it if you don't do something about it_, Annabeth thought to herself. She also cursed herself for forgetting that Tom was the Heir of Slytherin. _It would've saved me a lot of work_.

A couple of days later, she noticed a change at the Slytherin table. Before, Tom would sit at the corner of the table, eating quickly and quietly. Now, he was sitting in the middle of all of the Slytherins and was talking to them while the Slytherins looked at him with what looked like respect. Annabeth smiled, and then frowned. She liked the fact that he seemed happy, but she hoped that she herself wasn't helping the Slytherins form the Death Eaters. Annabeth turned back to the conversation with Emma and her friends. Later, when she saw Tom again, she brought it up.

"Looks like you've made new friends. I'm happy for you," Annabeth remarked.

"Well, those people don't have personalities that would make them good friends, but they are useful to help my reputation." Annabeth felt her heart sink. She was glad that Tom wasn't actually friends with them, because she agreed with his statement about their personalities for the most part, but she was worried that he was already starting to use people.

"What do you mean?" Annabeth asked.

"Well, while I am smart, anything I say and do will seem more powerful if there are other people who agree with me," Tom said.

"No offense, Tom, but are you sure that would be very effective? I mean, most of the school does dislike a lot of the Slytherins."

"Yes, but the Slytherins are my house mates, so it's easier to start with them. And it's working. Abraxas is already questioning his previous opinion on muggleborns. He hasn't changed much, and he still hates Muggles, but he's not as against muggleborns, which is a start. And since a lot of people against Muggles are too 'oh, I wouldn't ever be caught dead being seen in the Muggle part of the world', they probably won't harm Muggles. Atleast, not without being caught by the Ministry." Annabeth nearly sighed in relief, but stopped in time simply because it would've looked weird. The next day in Potions class, Annabeth noticed something for the first time. She noticed the way Tom asked questions and gave answers. When Tom answered questions, he did so confidently yet quietly. However, when he asked a question himself, Tom tilted his head downward a little, as if he was shy, asked the question while looking at the floor, and looked back up at the teacher through the fringes of his silky dark hair. Annabeth saw the way everyone else around them melted when he did that, especially the girls, and she had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep herself from laughing out loud. Annabeth had to admit that if she hadn't known Tom for six years, then she probably would've melted too, and she thanked the gods that she did know him. He was an interesting and somewhat nice person, even if he was a bit introverted, and she was happy to know the real him, not just the smooth outer shell. But despite all of that, she had to admit that he was becoming more and more handsome. His hair was a bit longer, and the deep, almost-black hair contrasted perfectly with his pale had a rather defined jaw and cheekbones, but he wasn't bony in a sickly way now that he lived at Hogwarts and ate adequately. _Even now, he looks as good as the actor Christian Coulson, who played the teenage Tom in the movie Chamber of Secrets, albeit younger. I can easily see him becoming better-looking when he's older. No wonder he managed to charm everyone so well, especially girls_. Annabeth still thought the girls' reactions were funny, and hoped that she wouldn't have reacted to him that badly in such an open manner if she hadn't known him.

"Wow, Tom!" Annabeth said later, quietly. "I just realized that you act all shy and timid in class whenever you talk." Annabeth did an imitation. "Brilliant!"

"It took you _that_ long? Maybe you're not as smart as I thought you were," Tom remarked.

"Aww Tom, you think that highly of me? How touching. And I was too busy paying attention to the lessons all of this time. The lessons are more important than you are, you know. Despite what other girls may think."

"The lessons are boring. We don't really learn much. I, on the other hand, am much more interesting and charming than the lessons and am definetly better-looking than the teachers." Tom smirked.

"Be that as it may, I have no reason to pay attention to you in class."

"So you do admit that I am good-looking, since you said 'be that as it may'," Tom replied. _Shit_, Annabeth thought. _Way to let him see what you were thinking and stroke his already inflated ego, Annabeth_, she scolded herself mentally.

"That's not what I meant. I just meant that you were better-looking than the teachers. However, there are many guys better-looking than you. You're average." That was far from the truth, and they both knew it, but Annabeth tried to keep her face from betraying that she was well aware of reality.

"You're just biased. If I was average, then why would girls react to me the way they do? You're just brain-addled with thoughts of _your sweetheart_." Tom teased.

"I'm not brain-addled. I'm one of the smartest witches in our year. The other girls who are _charmed_ by you are brain-addled. And he's not my sweetheart. We're not together." Annabeth said the last part quietly, and then she went into the next class and sat down, not willing to let Tom have the last word.

"Dear Annabeth, it usually is majority rules, you know. That's how our national government works, and that's how a school's social 'government' works." Tom whispered in her ear, and then sat down at his seat, which was next to hers. He smirked at her, and Annabeth quickly took out her book and tried to immerse herself in it to hide her expression. Because Annabeth had felt herself blush when Tom whispered in her ear and called her 'dear Annabeth', even though she knew it meant nothing. She wasn't sure why she was blushing, because she was sure that she like Edward and that she was over Tom. Besides, no matter what, he wouldn't mean anything by it. He was her friend, had been for six years, and it would just be too awkward for them to be together. _Not that I want anything like that_, Annabeth thought, and shook her head. _And besides_, she thought ruefully, _I doubt that Tom Marvolo Riddle can love. If he could, he wouldn't have become Lord Voldemort. And I don't think that I could make him feel love and change that. The most I can probably do is be friends with him and make him realize that the world isn't all bad and superficial, and maybe even make him realize that there are people who can and are willing to understand him, and that he does have equals_. _After all, I do understand why he would've shut out humanity before, when I wasn't his friend, because no one had bothered to understand him before, and then he came to expect the worst of the world and shut himself out. There are times when I think that he is right, because it seems like my future self doesn't have any good friends. Every time she thinks she has made a good friend, they let her down in some way or another. Even her old crush still hasn't forgiven her, even though she admitted her fault. People do let you down a lot. Sometimes, I think that it really isn't worth having the company of others. But I remember how good it feels, and that's the only thing that hasn't let me give up on finding good friends and true love. But I'm Tom's best friend. I understand him the most besides him himself, and I won't betray him if I can help it. I have to stop him from becoming Voldemort, but I'm not sure how to do that. _Annabeth shook her head and tried to pay attention to the lesson, but her mind kept wandering back to Tom Riddle.


	24. Chapter 23

Tom looked over at Annabeth, who was sitting next to him. He saw her cheeks turn red, and he saw her try to immerse herself in the book. Her eyes had a faraway look in them, though, and he could tell that she wasn't really paying attention to a word in the book. Maybe, despite all of her denial, she really does like me the way other girls do. He smiled a little at that. _It just proves that I'm charming enough to even make Annabeth like me, even though she's been my friend for years and we're practically siblings_. But he felt happy about that. However, professor Dumbledore started the Transfiguration lesson, so Tom turned his attention to the class. Later though, after the class was assigned to transfigure a mouse into a goblet and Tom was done, he recalled recent events. Last night, he actually did his work in the common room for the first time this year instead of in his dormitory. The Slytherins started teasing him and making fun of him again, but this time he'd had enough. He looked one of the Slytherins in the eye and imagined that he was looking at a snake. It wasn't hard.

"**Shut up, or I'll hex you," **Tom said in Parseltongue. The look on the Slytherin's face was so hilarious that Tom would've laughed if he wasn't too Slytherin to act impulsively on his emotions.

"You were...hissing. Were you, was that... Parseltongue?" the Slytherin asked. All of the other Slytherins seemed shocked as well.

"Yes." Tom replied. "I am Salazar Slytherin's heir." At that moment, a lot changed. All of the Slytherins looked at Tom with new respect.

"The Heir is here at Hogwarts..." Tom heard some of them whispered.

"A descendant of the very founder of this great House," others said in awe.

"Now the Chamber of Secrets can be opened!" one of them exclaimed. Tom was uncomfortable with this, but hid it well behind an impassive mask. He had read up on the Chamber of Secrets, and was sure that the creature was a snake of sorts, probably a basilisk since it could kill with a single glance from its eyes.

"No he won't!" a voice rung out. It was a girl. _Parkinson, I believe_? The girl continued. "He's the brave _defender_ of the muggleborns," she sneered.

"However, we all know that Salazar Slytherin was a very powerful wizard, and as you can probably already tell, I seem to have inherited his power." Tom said this lightly, but no one missed the threat behind the words. The Parkinson girl shut up, and everyone quietly went back to what they were doing, but Tom could tell that a lot had changed.

Now, his attention back in the current time, he looked over at Annabeth since he was still bored. He saw her look at him with worry. _What could she be thinking about? She's always happy, and she never seems to worry about anything. What could be worrying her_?

"Annabeth, what's wrong?" Tom asked gently. She looked startled, and shook her head.

"No, no, nothing's wrong," Annabeth said, but the expression on her face gave away the fact that she was lying. She had said that kind of loudly, and Tom looked around to see if people had noticed their conversation. There were girls looking at them with jealousy, Tom noted, and he had to fight to keep himself from rolling his eyes. _Girls can be so petty_, he thought. _They get jealous if they see a guy who they don't have anything to do with talking comfortingly to his friend. Honestly_! However, he smiled charmingly at them, blinking a couple of times and making sure his smile showed no teeth. The girls giggled and turned back to their work, whispering in a huddle to try to interpret that forced smile. Annabeth saw the whole exchange, and Tom saw her fight back her laughter. _Well, atleast some good has come from this. She seems to have forgotten her worries_. _I do wish that I knew what was wrong. If it concerns me, I have a right to know, and if it doesn't, I should be able to ease her worry, tell her what she wants to know, or find out what she wants to know. If only I had Veritaserum, since I very well can't do the Imperius Curse; it's an Unforgivable curse. _He supposed that there were books that told one how to brew Veritaserum, but they were probably in the Restricted section because of its danger. However, a plan was starting to form in his head, and if it worked, which he was sure it would, he would be able to use Veritaserum to find out what was bugging her.

The next day after Potions, Tom stayed behind after Potions. He had looked and looked in the library for the Potions book with Veritaserum in it, and he finally found it in the Restricted section, as he'd predicted. He noted the title, and wrote down a permission slip that he decided he'd get Slughorn to sign. He knew that the fact that it was a Potions book would make it easier for him to get permission from Professor Slughorn, not that it wouldn't be easy to persuade the professor.

"Professor Slughorn?" Tom asked, adding hesitancy into his voice. Tom made sure that the hesitancy conveyed shyness, not nervousness about doing something wrong as someone else might've ended up sounding. He knew that he could make a brilliant actor if he'd wanted to go into such a lowly, dull field.

"Yes m'dear boy, what would you like?" professor Slughorn boomed.

"I wanted to do some extra reading, you know. Gain some knowledge outside of class..." Tom trailed off, knowing that Slughorn would take the bait.

"Yes, dear boy, I see what you mean. Gaining extra knowledge is always good, useful, helpful. I haven't seen students as thirsty for knowledge in a long time. Even your friend Annabeth, while she is brilliant, bless her heart, isn't as inquisitive as you are. So, I take it that you'd like to get a book out of the Restricted section?"

"Yes sir, please?" Tom handed professor Slughorn the slip of paper.

"Well, while you are a second year, I see no problem with you taking out this book. Nothing dangerous in here, and I suppose it is fine for one as mature as you for light reading," professor Slughorn said, heartily signing the piece of paper with his bold signature. "Here you go, m'boy."

"Thank you, sir. I really do appreciate it." Tom said silkily. He walked out calmly, and as soon as he was outside the Potions' classroom, he sniggered quietly into his hand. He knew that, if Annabeth was here, she would've burst out laughing. Persuasion like that was enjoyable, and it seemed to be one of his talents. He proceeded to his other classes excitedly.

Later, he sat down and opened the book to the page which explained how to make Veritaserum. _It'll take a month for it to be complete? No matter, _Tom thought, and sat down to make the potion.


	25. Chapter 24

Annabeth was in the library doing her homework with Emma and Edward. Tom was busy, he'd told her, researching his mother's side of the family. When Annabeth offered to help, though, he'd declined.

"This is something I have to do myself," he'd said. Annabeth understood that there were some things like that, and learning about a family that someone never had was one of those things. So now Annabeth was helping Emma and Edward with their more difficult homework. She was a bit upset that she wouldn't get to spend time with Tom, but that was masked by her excitement about spending more time with her other two friends, especially Edward since she had all of her classes with Emma and because the two girls often talked late into the night. Annabeth always had to keep herself from getting too excited whenever Edward smiled at her. _He's smiling too much at me for those smiles to just be thank-you for helping me with my homework smiles_, Annabeth thought excitedly, and then chatised herself for acting like those girls would around Tom. _Great. Now I'm analyzing Edward's every smile. I'm just as pathetic as those other girls. But I have the right to, since I actually know Edward, but those girls don't know Tom well at all. She heard Emma asking her a question though, so she tuned back in to the real world_.

"Hey Annabeth, what are the consequences of not potting a Mandrake correctly, exactly?" Emma asked. Annabeth proceeded to answer her question.

Later, Annabeth was reading some of the advanced books on Defense Against the Dark Arts. She figured that it's better to be safe than sorry, and if she was going to do advanced study in any area, it would be most useful to learn Defense Against the Dark Arts, especially, it pained her to even think, if she had to use it against Tom. Annabeth decided that, for now and in the next year or two, the thing that would be in most danger from Tom was her mind. She didn't know when he learned Legillimency, but knew that he ended up becoming one of the world's greatest Legillimens. If she learned Occlumency, she could protect atleast her mind from him, and if she learned it now, she could spend later years perfecting her Occlumency skills. It wouldn't be good for Tom to learn about the future, because if he did, he might like what he did in his later years, and that might persuade him to follow the path to become Voldemort. She looked for books about Occlumency, and finally found a section with a couple books on it. Thankfully, they weren't in the Restricted Section, which was good. She supposed that while Legillimency could be harmful if in the wrong hands, Occlumency was simply harmless, if difficult, magic and Annabeth guessed that most younger students wouldn't be able to master it anyways. She picked up the slim book titled 'Occlumency and How to Master it'. She checked it out and sat down to read it.

_'Occlumency is a very difficult branch of magic, but it is helpful to protect one's mind from unwelcome outsiders. If one masters it, his secrets will be safe from prying people. Occlumency protects against both Legillimens and Veritaserum, _-' _Wow, I didn't know that it could protect someone from Veritaserum, _Annabeth thought_. If Harry knew Occlumency, he wouldn't have had to fear Umbridge's or Snape's threats to use Veritaserum against him. _She read on.

'-_but it requires intense concentration throughout, and if one lets their concentration slip for even a moment, a Legillimens could enter the mind, and one would have to use all of his strength to fight off the mental attack. If the Occlumens lets his concentration slip, and if Veritaserum was given, the Veritaserum will take effect and cannot be fought off._' Annabeth was nervous. _I'm not good at concentrating, and I'll need someone to help me. Someone who knows Legillimens. However, I would only consider trusting a teacher. But who?_ Suddenly, the answer came to her. She read the instructions for Occlumency. First, she had to visualize one thing and one thing only. With intense concentration, she had to think about nothing else, in essence, emptying her mind of other memories. She tried, and she managed it eventually, but she knew that she'd need practice around a Legillimens.

The next day, after Transfiguration, Annabeth stayed behind. "Go on," she told Emma and Tom. "I'll be there in a few minutes. I need to ask professor Dumbledore something." They agreed. Annabeth then approached professor Dumbledore. "Professor? I want to ask you something."

"Ask away, Miss Sharma. I take it that it's not a question about the lesson, correct?" Professor Dumbledore asked quietly, but underneath it, Annabeth could hear the sureness in his voice.

"You are right sir. Well, I'll get straight to the point. I would like to learn Occlumency." Annabeth was glad that the professor hadn't reacted with outright shock and/or disbelief, though she could see mild surprise in his face.

"I see. And would you care to tell me why you would like to learn such advanced magic? I take it that you have a good reason for it."

"Well, sir, do you think that you can promise that you won't tell everybody about this?" Professor Dumbledore seemed taken aback at the request, but he replied.

"I will see, but unless anyone is in danger from what you're about to tell me, you can be pretty sure that I'll keep this a secret."

"Well, sir, I'm not positive about what happened to me either, but here's what I think happened, and I think it's the best guess I can come up with. You see, I know for a fact that I was born in 1997." Annabeth saw surprise in the professor's eyes, but he gestured for her to continue. "March 17, to be exact. I was six when I ended up in the orphanage somehow. The year at the orphanage was 1933. However, as I grew up at the orphanage, there was, I guess, another me growing up in 2003. I mean, if I had been taken out of my time when I was actually six, there wouldn't be another me in 2003, would there? But there is. So I think that I was de-aged and sent back in time. I can hear my other me's thoughts, and she can hear mine, since we're technically the same person. However, I don't remember me myself growing up in the future. The only memories I have of that is that of my future self, so I suppose that when I was de-aged, my memories of my teenage years were wiped out as well. I guess the mind-link will only continue until my future self is sent back in time and there will no longer be two me's who are exactly the same age existing in two time periods at once. But I still know what the future will be like, and that could be dangerous if someone in the past finds out about the future." Annabeth held her breath and waited for professor Dumbledore's reaction.

"That is certainly a remarkable story, but I don't see why you would be particularly worried. I mean, do you think someone is after particular information right now?"

"That's another thing, professor. The future me is a Muggle. Somehow, when I was sent back in time, I also got magical powers. And in the future, well, there is this book series about the wizarding world. In it, there's a dark lord. His name is Voldemort. He hates Muggles and Muggleborns. I'm worried that I might run into him and that he will read my thoughts. I know the book is true because..." Annabeth trailed off. She didn't want to tell Dumbledore about Tom Riddle. After all, he hadn't done anything yet, and he still had a chance of improving, but she wasn't sure if Dumbledore would see that. "... well, how do I tell you this, professor? You're in that book. Obviously, you're a lot older, but you're trying to fight that dark lord." Professor Dumbledore stared at her for a few minutes. She remembered the Harry Potter books, and tried not to remember the second or sixth book. Then, professor Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"I see, Miss Sharma. I'm sorry, but I used Legillimency. I had to see if you were being honest. See, I couldn't have you learning Occlumency to hide truths from the staff. But you are honest, and your story is remarkable. I have never heard of Voldemort, but I suppose I could teach you Occlumency to arm yourself against him. Your information could be dangerous. He could use it to make additional precautions, making him harder to defeat. Okay. I'll give you private Occlumency lessons at eight every Saturday and Sunday evening. How's that? It's granted that you won't tell anyone about what you'll really be learning."

"Of course, sir."

"You may leave."

"Thank you, sir," Annabeth said excitedly. She was learning something really advanced and helpful. From then on, every weekend evening was devoted to Occlumency lessons. Since she had two lessons a week, she was able to pick up Occlumency pretty quickly. After about a month, Tom was talking to her again, but she tried to avoid him for a bit, spending her free moments doing concentration exercises.

"What are you doing?" Tom asked. He sounded offended, and Annabeth guessed it was because she was blowing him off. He probably didn't like being blown off, but she knew that he wouldn't admit it.

"Sorry. I've just been stressed, so I'm meditating," Annabeth replied. It wasn't a total lie. After all, meditating wasn't just about crossing your legs and saying 'Ohmmmm', it was about relaxing and emptying your mind.

"Really? I don't see you crossing your legs and saying 'Ohmmmm'," Tom replied cheekily.

"Meditating is about relaxing and emptying your mind, Tom. You should try it. If you won't, leave me alone and let me meditate. Sorry, I don't mean to be rude at all. It's just I want to know that I can concentrate and completely empty my mind, you know. It helps me deal with homework stress. After all, you are the only person in our year who actually enjoys homework despite not needing it. I certainly don't. Look, you're probably thinking 'Oh, who is she to abandon me, I don't need her, friends are useless and they abandon you, I don't want a friend, etc. etc. etc.'." Annabeth nearly burst out laughing when she saw Tom's shocked expression. "No, dear Tommy-boy, I can't read minds. I've just known you too long. I don't know about other people you've known, but I'm not out to bother you or betray you and our friendship or to be a bad friend or anything, so I don't want you to assume the worst about me." Annabeth then walked off, and sat down and went back to clearing her mind. Eventually, professor Dumbledore declared, after about a month and a half since their lessons had started, that Annabeth had mastered the basics of Occlumency.

"Good job, Miss Sharma. I've never know anyone who has mastered such powerful magic at such a young age," professor Dumbledore declared proudly.

"Thank you, sir." Annabeth replied happily. She left that day, eager to talk to Tom. She could now tell when Legillimency or Veritaserum was being used on her, and could do basic defense against it, which meant that she could lie through Veritaserum and simply block her thoughts from basic Legillimency. Annabeth suspected that professor Dumbledore had only done weaker Legillimency against her right now. On her way back to her dorm, she ran into Tom.

"Annabeth, come here. I've been wanting to talk to you about what I found out about my parents. I've been wanting to talk to you for two weeks, but you've kept avoiding me, and by becoming friends with you all of those years ago, I've gotten into the habit of wanting to share things with you. It's pointless, if you think about it practically, because it's not like anything could be done about half the things that people share with each other, but it feels good for some unfathomable reason." Tom said sourly.

"Tom, stop thinking about _everything_ logically. We can't necessarily understand our feelings. Sometimes, we just have to go with the flow. So, what did you want to tell me?" Annabeth asked. Her eyes traveled to Tom's hands, which was clutching a bottle.

"Butterbeer," Tom said, answering Annabeth's unspoken question. "Nicked it from the kitchens. You have to tickle the pear in the center to open the kitchens. It's so silly that no one would think of it, which is its genius, I suppose." Tom said. The two friends went into an empty classroom and sat down. Tom cast a couple of charms. Annabeth felt like something cool was trickling down her.

"We're now invisible, and no one can hear us. I found out that Salazar Slytherin's descendants had squandered their wealth, so that my mother and my grandfather had practically nothing for themselves. I found out that none of them had ever been to Hogwarts or any other school of sorts. My father was, presumably, a Muggle, so I couldn't find out anything about him yet. But I found out that my grandfather and uncle had abused my mother because she was a squib." Tom said bitterly. "My father was a muggle, and even my mother, the descendant of the great Salazar Slytherin, couldn't do magic. She couldn't even stay alive for her son. And my dear uncle went to jail for attacking the Muggle Tom Riddle and my grandfather went to jail for attacking a Ministry official. My mother ran away from home and got married to a Muggle, according to what the wizards were able to gather from sources, and then she died right after she had me. I have such a good family background."

"It's okay, Tom. Atleast she stayed alive long enough to have you. And maybe she was weak from childbirth. That happens to women. Maybe she figured that the orphanage would be able to provide for you better than she could. If everything about your mother's family is true, then she wouldn't have been able to support herself, let alone you as well." Annabeth was still wary about the drinks. Why did he have them?

"But she ran away from home! She didn't have to fear her father and brother! And if she married the Muggle, than she couldn't really have forced him!" Tom exclaimed angrily.

"Unless she used a love potion, or the Imperius curse," Annabeth replied quietly. At seeing Tom's expression, Annabeth continued.

"It could be possible, you know. Maybe she could've given him a love potion, and then maybe she ran out, and he abandoned her then."

"Yeah, but she was a squib!" Tom was breathing heavily. He took a couple more breaths, and then seemed to calm down. "But I guess that you're right. My mother seemed to have done what she thought was best, even if it necessarily wasn't the best, and I should appreciate her for that. Can we make a toast to my mother?" Tom asked. He seemed so sad and innocent that Annabeth almost agreed completely until something struck her.

"But you seemed to be angry at your mother before. I don't think that you wanted to make a toast to her before. So why did you have those bottles at the time?" Annabeth asked warily.

"I know that you love it." Tom replied simply. Annabeth then saw that Tom also had two glasses in his hand. He opened the bottle and poured two glasses. They clinked their glasses together. "To my poor dead mother," Tom said. Tom raised the glass to his lips and Annabeth saw the butterbeer touch his lips. She was reassured. After all, he had poured his drink from the same bottle as her drink, and she knew that he didn't spike her drink after pouring it out for her. She took a sip of her butterbeer, and felt a queer sensation along with the heat and sweetness of the butterbeer. She recognized the queer sensation all too well.

"Annabeth, I have to ask you something. What was bothering you before, a month and a half ago in Potions class? You seemed to be troubled. What was troubling you that day? You know, the day that we were arguing about me, and how I acted around other teachers and students?" Even with the seriousness in his voice, she saw Tom smirk at the memory of that day. She nearly smiled, when the weight of the question hit her like a ton of bricks. Tom's actions were suddenly crystal-clear to her.


	26. Chapter 25

Tom held his breath as he asked Annabeth the question. Annabeth got a faraway look in her eyes. Then she answered.

"My future self read a muggle book series about the wizarding world. In it, there's a dark lord who hates muggles and muggleborns. When he was at Hogwarts, he even killed a muggleborn, but stopped because the school was about to shut down. He then framed a fellow student. He went on to kill his remaining family, and he used those and other killings to split his soul and try to gain immortality. He lost what little humanity he had and became a ruthless killer, torturing and killing people who didn't do his bidding, who resisted him, and sometimes killing those who were just there in order to get to his targeted victims." Annabeth looked at Tom with tears pooling in her eyes. The look that she gave him was pure sadness and regret. _But why is she so sad about that_? _I would understand if she was scared, but she doesn't look scared, just sad._

"That's upsetting," Tom said. "But why are you sad about that? It's just a book."

"Think about all of the innocent people who die just because of one wizard's hatred for Muggles coupled with his desire for immortality." Annabeth took a couple of deep breaths to try to steady her shaking voice. "Besides that, based on the dates in the book and everything, the dark lord would be in school around this time. The book takes place in the 1990s, and it said that the killing of the muggleborn student happened fifty years ago, so that's about now. And the book really accurately describes the wizarding world. The description of Diagon Alley, the Leaky Cauldron, Hogwarts and its ghosts, they're all accurate. Heck, even professor Dumbledore is in there, even though he's older and he's -" She trailed off, then inhaled a lungful of air.

"He's?" Tom prompted.

"He's sillier." Annabeth finished. Tom nodded, not surprised at all. Professor Dumbledore was nice enough, and taught his lessons well, but he was too silly and goofy for his liking. Annabeth's statement about the book shook him though. If the book was really accurate though, then the parts about the dark lord were probably true as well. But Annabeth said that the book was a series that Muggles read? Did that mean that some Muggleborn gave away the secrets of the wizarding world to Muggles? Well, Annabeth said that it happened in the future, so he'd worry about that later.

"Surely you know his name though? If he does go to Hogwarts now, we'll know him from his name!" Tom said excitedly.

"That's the thing though. His name is Voldemort, and I've never heard of such a student." Annabeth replied.

"That's probably a nickname, a fake name that he made up to go by since then no one would know who he was. But do you know his real name by any chance?" Tom held his breath, waiting for her reply.

"No. There's no other name that he's adressed by." Tom sighed, dejected. Well, atleast he knew what was bothering her.

"Well, I'm sorry to say that right now, we've got Grindelwald to worry about, so don't worry about the future yet. I'll try to convince Slytherins that muggleborns and even Muggles aren't bad, and that we're not better because of our magical abilities. It'll be hard though, since they've grown up with this mindset, but I'll try." Tom saw Annabeth give him a weak smile. Then, she shook her head.

"I can't _believe_ that you gave me Veritaserum, _Tom Marvolo Riddle,_" Annabeth hissed. "Don't even try to give me that innocent look. I know what it feels like, I happened to come across it in a book on potions. And...and you didn't drink it, did you? I remember it now, you only let the liquid touch your lips, but your lips were closed, so you didn't actually drink the Butterbeer, you just pretended to. I didn't think much of it at the time, but now I see it. Tom, you're my best friend. I really treasure our friendship, and I mostly trust you. I just didn't want to tell you about the future, because awful things could happen if I meddled with time. Up until now, most of the stuff we talked about when we talked about the future was about me and my life, and you can't affect that, so it was alright. But I didn't want to accidently tell you something that could mess up time. We don't know how the rules of time work! And you used _Veritaserum_ to force the answers out of me. Do you think that I didn't trust you? Well, let me tell you that I did! I did trust you Tom, because you hadn't given me a reason not to. But now? Not so much! You should've known that if I wasn't telling you something, it was for a reason. After all, even Emma doesn't really know anything that you don't know, so that should tell you something."

"I...I thought that you didn't want to burden your problems on me. I thought that you wouldn't share your worries because you didn't want to worry me. I..."

"Oh don't be so full of yourself! I'm wasn't worried about bringing tension to your mind because I know that it's not delicate!" Annabeth calmed herself down and continued. "I know that you can handle as much as me, maybe more. I don't doubt your maturity and ability to handle troubles. But I am still angry at you, and you can't blame me. You can have your Butterbeer! Nicking it because I liked it, yeah right." Annabeth stormed off. Tom was surprised at Annabeth's anger. He had never been on the receiving end of her anger. Heck, he'd never even seen her this angry at anyone, let alone himself. He supposed that he shouldn't have done that. In the end, he mostly only found out stuff that he couldn't control, that he couldn't really do anything about. He went up to his dormitory, upset about the way things had turned out. But later, as he was about to fall asleep, additionas thoughts plagued his mind. _Didn't Annabeth realize that I was only doing this for her? Didn't she realize that, as a friend, I wanted to know what was troubling her, and because I am a wizard, I simply used Veritaserum instead of bothering her until she relented, like a Muggle would probably do? Friends, they are so ungrateful. You try to help them, and if you don't always try the traditional way, they get mad at you. Are friends really worth it? They're not really caring and understanding the way they seem to be. If they were understanding, then Annabeth would understand why I did this. If she wants to be mad at me, that's fine! Two can play that game. Besides, she is the one who would be all alone and helpless without friends, not me. She is the one who needs reassurance that she is good from other people, not me! She is the one who needs a sweetheart, not me! _His mind stewing in bitter thoughts like this, Tom fell asleep


	27. Chapter 26

**Thank you to all who have reviewed and read my story. I would especially like to thank abbercrombie and ILoveBem for your reviews (just the ones I remember the most off the top of my head)! I would also appreciate constructive feedback, if you readers have any. Anyways, a rough patch in Tom and Annabeth's friendship! How dramatic!**

Annabeth's thoughts were jumbled. She wasn't sure what was the right way to feel. On the one hand, she was extremely angry at Tom for using Veritaserum against her. _How __dare__ he_? It was luck, or maybe Fate, that she had learned Occlumency, and quickly. _That's not how you treat a friend! Just because he's a wizard doesn't mean that he has the right to use force to get his friend to tell him her secrets! He should trust me that I value our friendship enough that if I'm not telling him what's wrong, it is for a good reason_. But another part of her was taking another direction. _He may have used Veritaserum against me, but since he thinks that it worked on me, he could've asked me anything about the future. But he didn't. He only asked me what was wrong. Sure, his tactic for finding out wasn't right, but it shows that he wanted to help me because he saw me in pain. But I suppose that having a friend won't turn his personality around one-hundred-eighty degrees. He'd still have some of the more forceful, commanding parts of his personality. He'd still have the need to know everything and anything that might be important_. Her thoughts took another direction yet again though. _The only reason he probably didn't ask me about the future is because he knows that I lived as pretty much a Muggle in the future, so he probably thinks that my knowledge about the future is negliglable in terms of the Wizarding world_. The other side of her interrupted her rant. _Yeah, but once he realized that I had read a book series that possibly has valuable information about the Wizarding world, he could've asked me what the world itself was like, or if there was anything about him. But he didn't. He only asked me about the Dark Lord who was bothering me_. Annabeth was having a strong internal battle. _He could've apologized_, though, was her last ringing thought in her mind. _His intentions may have been good, but his method wasn't. He knows that it bothered me, the force he tried to use, and he should realize that atleast he owed me an apology for that. But he won't! Just like Dad_! Annabeth fell into an uneasy sleep.

Annabeth had the thinnest sliver of hope that last night was just an awful dream, and that none of this had happened. That Tom would still be smirking at her while sitting next to her in class, eager to prove smoothly and unboisterously that he was smarter and the superior. However, when she was in class, Tom didn't even look at her. He acted as if there was no one in the seat next to him. For some inexplicable reason, Annabeth was deeply offended by this. She felt as if someone had taken a knife, plunged it deep into her heart, and twisted it. She wanted to apologize to Tom, but something stopped her. She was sure that his pride was stopping him from apologizing for using Veritaserum. Well, if he had pride, so did she, and she wouldn't apologize for getting angry reasonably. She'd had it with apologizing to guys for things she couldn't really control. Well, her Muggle future self did. But her future self's life and feelings were her own since they were the same person, so she was tired of stubborn, egotistical guys. She sat down and looked at her books, finally being able to fully concentrate on the content in the pages with this realization. Annabeth couldn't control her feelings completely, though. She never could. She couldn't keep them bottled up inside of her, so she did what she thought was the most sensible thing she could; she told Emma what had happened. Well, atleast part of it.

"Emma, I'm so upset! Tom and I had our biggest fight last night," Annabeth told Emma in the library as they were doing their homework. Edward had gotten up to look for a book. Despite everything, Annabeth still had time to revel in the fact that Edward separated himself from his other Gryffindor buddies to spend time with Annabeth and Emma doing homework. She would have thought that he just wanted answers if it wasn't for the way they all talked and had a good time with each other. Recently, Edward had started telling Annabeth and Emma about the pranks that he and his friends played. While Emma would click her tongue jokingly in disapproval and then smile at Edward as if to say 'what can we do', Annabeth loved hearing about the guys' _escapades_, so to say. However, Edward was looking for a book right now, and Annabeth took this opportunity to discuss last night's events with Emma.

"What happened?" Emma asked with a concerned tone.

"Something was bothering me in class one day. It wasn't anything important," Annabeth said quickly, seeing the expression on Emma's face. "Just a book at the orphanage that I had read." Annabeth said, quickly lying. While she felt extremely guilty for lying to her friend, now wasn't the time to tell her her life...er...lives' histories. "I was bored and my mind was wandering that day in Potions class. Tom saw me upset, and he asked me what was wrong. I wouldn't tell him, because it really was inconsequential. He asked me again last night. I told him, but I was angry at his insistence." Emma looked at Annabeth dubiously.

"I could tell that you when you were talking about what was bothering you earlier. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but I won't understand your point of view if you don't." Annabeth almost relented, but Tom's face swam into her mind. _Pathetic and needy_, the mental image of Tom sneered at her. _You need other people to understand you to reassure yourself that what you did was right. I, on the other hand, don't. I know that my opinion about myself is more important than any outsider's opinion, because they haven't been through the same things that I have, and they don't think exactly like me. Every person is unique, and you can't really truly understand other people because of that, so why even try? Well, be pathetic and tell your friends all of your carefully guarded secrets. I don't care. I don't need you anyways, you pitiful __mudblood_! Even though it was only a mental image of her imagination speaking at her like that, she was scared that Tom really did think that of her. Besides the obvious fact that that would mean that Tom would inevitably become Voldemort and she and other innocents would be in danger, Annabeth simply didn't want to lose her Tom, her best friend. She was also afraid that he was right about her being pathetic. Annabeth burst into tears as Edward came back with a book in his hands.

"What's wrong?" Edward asked. Annabeth contemplated her options. In the end, though, she decided that she was not Tom Marvolo Riddle, and she would very well do what her heart wanted to. She was different from him, and it was his 'only trust yourself' opinion and his contempt for loving emotions like love, friendship, and trust towards other people that turned him into Voldemort. Maybe she trusted people too much, but she'd deal with that. It was her.

"Okay. I promise that what I'm about to tell you is the truth as I experienced it. But it's a long story, and I'll have to start at the beginning." Emma and Edward nodded. Annabeth cast a 'Silencio' around them."Here's how I think it happened, because it's the most logical explanation I can come up with. Once, there was a Muggle girl. She was atleast twelve, maybe older. She was reading a fiction book about the Wizarding world. The book was also written by a Muggle, as far as we know. She fell asleep, and woke up in an orphanage the next morning..." Annabeth told Emma and Edward the whole story about ending up at the orphanage, meeting Tom Riddle, and discovering that she was six years old and had went back in time. She told them about learning that Tom could do magic, and while she didn't know about magic, she realized about a year and a half later that she could do it too. She told them about being able to hear her 'future self's' thoughts, thus realizing that she must exist in two times and places at once where both selves were exactly the same age. She continued with her story, telling them that she believed that the book was true because it had a Professor Dumbledore, albeit an older one. Emma and Edward gasped at this. Annabeth finally told them what was upsetting her that day, but only told them as much as she'd told Tom.

"So you reckon that that Dark Lord in the book goes to school at around this time?" Emma gasped in horror.

"Probably a Slytherin," Edward muttered. At Annabeth's reproachful look, Edward looked apologetic. "Sorry. It's just that everyone I know who thinks that purebloods are better than everyone else is a Slytherin."

"It's okay. I don't blame you." Annabeth replied gently. She then told them about how Tom had used Veritaserum to try to get the truth out of her. Edward looked angry.

"No wonder you are angry at him. I would be too. His intentions may have been good, but his method wasn't," he said, echoing Annabeth's thoughts.

"Yeah, Edward, but he did what he thought was best to try to help her. He wouldn't have been able to if he didn't know what was wrong. Annie, I get your anger, but in the end, Tom did all of this because he cares about you." Emma said. "You should apologize to him."

"No, Emma. He knows that I was offended by his method, and he should have apologized to me for atleast that," Annabeth replied fiercely.

"Here's what we'll do," Edward interceded. "I'll try to talk to Tom, and see if you two can talk it out. Then, you can tell him that you understand why he did it, and that you just want him to apologize for the way he tried to get you to tell him what was wrong. And for now, you need a break from all of this, so guess what? You can join me and my friends on our next prank." Despite the seriousness of the situation before, a big, girly part of Annabeth couldn't help but squeal internally. On the outside, though, Annabeth simply beamed, a bright smile gracing her face.

"I'm up for it!" Annabeth exclaimed, while Emma looked horrified.

"Two Edwards in our group! What'll I do?" Emma said jokingly horrified. She winked at Annabeth, who blushed, knowing what was probably running through Emma's mind. Atleast she and Edward were coming closer together. It was that thought and that thought alone that got her through the next couple of days, when she saw Tom looking pretty close to the rest of the Slytherins and started worrying about him and what he was doing.


	28. Chapter 27

Over the next couple of days, Tom noticed the glances that Annabeth gave him. They seemed full of pain and confusion. He'd always look away, pretending that he never noticed her or anything about her. I'm done with caring and being concerned about people. I thought that Annabeth understood me, but she doesn't seem to understand that I only did this to find out what was bothering her to help her. _Maybe I was wrong to use Veritaserum, but my motives were good! But it seems that if someone doesn't do something the 'traditional' or 'right' way, people hate him. Well, the end mostly justifies the means, especially since no one was hurt or harmed. But if she doesn't realize all of this and apologize for overreacting, then I don't see any reason to apologize to her for using Veritaserum. I don't need to apologize_. With these thought running through his head, he ignored Annabeth easily. Now that he was alone in terms of actual friends, he decided to have some fun with flirting with some of the other girls in his classes. _It will be interesting_. Tom thought about techniques which he could use to portray himself as an innocent boy who had no idea of his intelligence and brilliance. He also thought about how he should look at girls who'd ogle at him and how he'd politely respond. He considered the way he'd smile. His smile would be a light smile with no teeth, a smile that would only reach halfway to his ears. Yet, the smile would ooze charm.

In Potions, when professor Slughorn asked a question, Tom hesitated for a moment before putting his hand up in the air. That hesitation was necessary to avoid seeming like a completely annoying know-it-all. If it seemed like he took a minute to consider the answer, his genius would seem more natural. When he put his hand up, he put it up calmly. He didn't race to try to put his hand up in the air as fast as he could for the same reasons as before. Tom also made sure that his arm was relaxed, bent a little, and in front of him a little instead of raising it up straight into the air and having his arm be perpendicular to his shoulders. That was to make sure that he didn't seem like an overeager little child dying for the professor's approval at his right answer, and to help him look more sophisticated.

"Yes, Tom, what do you think is the answer?" Professor Slughorn asked in a jolly tone.

"Root of asphodel, sir," Tom said in a quiet voice.

"Excellent Tom, ten points to Slytherin!" Tom smirked. That was part of his usual plan. It was what he had been doing since he came to Hogwarts, and there was nothing new about it. However, now he turned to a group of giggling girls at his right a couple of seats down. They were staring at him, and when he saw them, they giggled again. Inside, Tom was retching. _They barely have brains the size of peas, and they would hardly be able to understand my intelligence, merely being impressed by it and my good looks. Yet, the hopeless girls still vie for my attention_! On the outside, though, Tom smiled his charming smile and winked at them. He didn't look at any one girl in particular, though, so he was sure that the girls would start an argument about who he had smiled and winked at. Sure enough, the girls were whispering loudly amongst themselves about who Tom had looked at. Tom wasn't sure if the girls were even trying to be quiet.

"Girls, will you quiet down or will I have to put you in detention?" Professor Slughorn boomed. The girls seemed to sober up a little. Tom smirked, applauding himself silently at his performance. Then, he heard coughing from beside him. He looked to the left a little. Annabeth was quietly coughing. She was attempting to cover up what seemed to be laughter with a cough, but her smile gave her away, for people usually didn't smile while coughing. Tom rolled his eyes.

Later, he was talking to his Slytherin 'friends'. It was amusing to see them practically worship him, simply because he was the Heir of Salazar Slytherin. It was ironic because he was sure that he was a half-blood.

"What's the point of being nice to the mudbloods?" Abraxas inquired. "We make exceptions and let the mudbloods into our world, but we have to hide from the Muggles!"

"Well, see, I want to change that when I grow up. I want to become Minister of Magic when I grow up, because we need somebody _competent_ for that position, and we haven't had someone _competent_ for a while. I mean, I guess they have the right idea letting muggleborns into our world, because if we keep up the pureblood thing, eventually we'll start inbreeding, and that has diasterous effects," Tom said confidently. He had no doubt that the other Slytherins would believe him, and a perfect example of diasterous inbreeding, though he wouldn't ever admit it to anyone but Annabeth, who already knew, was his own family. The noble line of Salazar Slytherin had been nearly destroyed because of his and his descendants' extreme pureblood mania. Besides, Annabeth was right about one thing. Purebloods may have had wizard ancestors the whole way through, but even those ancestors eventually just had to have been born with the trait randomly. After all, if not everyone has magic today, Tom reasoned, then only a select few must have had magic in the olden days. If those wizards had all insisted on pureblood breeding, then there wouldn't be many wizards today. So muggleborns were just as good as the 'pureblood ancestors', since they're both born with magical ability. Also, if any magical person isn't trained in magic, the magic could explode out at random times, eventually driving a person mad. Since there were a lot more muggleborns and halfbloods, he supposed that that would be harmful to society in general, so he couldn't let pureblood mania take over. However, he did believe that wizards and witches shouldn't have to hide from Muggles. After all, a good witch or wizard would help society in general, but a bad Muggle with weapons like guns and knives could be pretty dangerous. Not to mention that Muggles had bombs, which meant that one single Muggle could do more damage than a wizard could.

"Earth to Tom!" Abraxas nearly yelled.

"Sorry Abraxas. I was just considering my opinion on your views after thinking things through. I believe that you are right in the fact that we shouldn't have to hide from Muggles. Our powers aren't necessarily bad, they're just dangerous in the wrong hands. Besides, bad Muggles could be that dangerous. While pretty much every Muggle I have met has seemed too worthless to deserve to know about our world, the way muggleborns talk about their parents, it seems like they are understanding, so I suppose that they are not all bad. Also, we shouldn't have to worry about Muggles bothering us to ask for magical solutions to their problems. Wizards and witches can just refuse, and if the Muggles get bothersome, then Muggle-repelling wards can be placed. So that's where I stand on this issue."

"But muggleborns can't be truly magical like us purebloods!" A boy named Avery interjected. Tom rolled his eyes at the boy's stupidity.

"Are they at Hogwarts?" The boy nodded. "That means that they had enough magic to be detected. Are they utterly failing their classes?" The boy shook his head, nervous at the tone of the Heir. "So they're competent at magic. Some are probably more competent than you, and aren't you pureblood?" Avery looked shocked.

"School, schmool," he muttered. "I can do real magic."

"Oh yeah?" Tom retorted. "Like what? What's _real_ magic? As far as I know, magic is wandwork and making potions. Both are taught at this school. I've seen you do both, Avery, and let me tell you that by your standards of measuring magical ability, you'd be more Muggle than some of the Muggleborns." Tom said all of this in such a tone that none of the Slytherins tried to deny it. They supposed that, if they were out by themselves in the real world, they wouldn't be very competent at magic. It was a good thing that a lot of them had their family fortune and could one day hire other wizards to do magic like make wards and things like that. However, they did understand some of what Tom was saying, but whether it was because Tom was already a good orator or because he was the Heir of Slytherin was not clear. Tom knew though that later, like in a year or so, when he was sure of what he wanted to accomplish and how, he would need to get followers who would support him. Britain did have a democracy, and Tom knew that he'd have to start the work of persuasion soon if he wanted to succeed as a politician.

Later that day, Tom ran into a familiar person. This person had messy black hair, bright blue eyes which were framed in glasses, and robes with a red and gold Gryffindor patch. It was Edward Potter.

"Tom, can you come with me?" Edward asked.

"What do you want with him you stupid Gryffindork?" one of the Slytherins demanded. Tom was sure that his speech earlier had prevented the boy from adding 'blood-traitor.'

"It's okay. I think that I can deal with him," Tom said, sneering slightly at the end. "What do you want Potter?" Edward looked a little offended. After all, they had spent the summer together, and Edward was surprised at Tom's bitterness.

"Look, Annabeth's been really offended that you are angry with her. She realizes that she was wrong to overreact, and she wants to talk to you."

"Why? How am I supposed to know that if she won't talk to me?" Tom replied.

"Well, you ignore her every time she even looks at you, so she won't be encouraged to even try!" Edward replied hotly.

"Whatever happened to the Gryffindors' courage?" Tom mocked. The other Slytherins behind him laughed. "She's so courageous, not having the guts to talk to me and sending you to do the talking for her."

"Well, I know exactly what happened, and I think that you were wrong. It's a wonder that Annabeth is willing to apologize."

"I believe that I was right, so if Annabeth is sorry, she'll have to come talk to me. Is that all you have to say? Well, you can leave now." Tom said coldly.

"You git," Edward muttered before walking off. Later that day, Tom saw Annabeth staring at him. He turned towards her, and saw pain and guilt in her eyes. But then, her expression changed. Her eyes also had stubbornness in them. She turned to Edward, and she, Edward, and his friends were in a huddle whispering about something. _What is she being stubborn about_?


	29. Chapter 28

Annabeth smiled conspiratorially. Last night, she, Edward, and her friends had discussed a prank that they'd be doing. It involved a tricky spell found in the book '_A Serious Jokester's Guide to Pranks'_, but Annabeth liked the prank, so she said that she'd try the spell. First, the group would try the spell themselves. Annabeth rolled up her sleeves dramatically, emitting a chuckle from some of the boys. She flicked her wand in a jab-like motion, as instructed.

"Imperium Rictusempra," she whispered. At first, nothing happened. Annabeth thought of Edward. Then, Edward started laughing, swatting at an invisible force as he fell to the ground. Through it though, he smiled at her.

"It worked," he said. Then, Annabeth thought of some of the other boys, and they started laughing as well. Annabeth decided to stop the charm and looked in the book. She flicked her wand again.

"Prohibere Titillo," Annabeth said, and everyone was back to normal.

"This is going to be great!" Edward exclaimed. They decided that they'd all do this in Professor Slughorn's class, to keep a constant and because Professor Slughorn would be the least likely to get them in trouble. So the next day in Potions, Annabeth sat next to Tom because of assigned seating at the beginning of the year and took out her wand. Tom didn't notice her, and Annabeth was glad. _This way, he won't suspect me_. Then, once more or less everyone was in class, but class hadn't started, Annabeth pointed the wand in Tom's general direction and said, "Imperium Rictusempra". She thought of Tom as much as she could. Tom, who was engrossed in a book, suddenly started laughing and swatting at himself to try to get rid of the invisible force. The group of '_Tom's admirers_', as Annabeth had scornfully dubbed them, were looking at him with an expression of disbelief, and she was sure that they were wondering if their precious Tom had gone crazy. Well, she'd assure them that he hadn't. She thought of one of the other girls by the name of Eleanor, and the girl started laughing and swatting too. She didn't make them all ticklish, or else they'd all realize that something was wrong. Annabeth thought of other random people in the class, and the same thing happened. The people who weren't affected laughed boldly and pointed, while the people who were affected laughed and swatted. Not too many people were affected, but Annabeth made sure to make it random so that it wouldn't look like revenge on a person or group.

"What is going on?" Professor Slughorn asked in a booming voice. Annabeth immediately whispered, "Prohibere Titillo", and everyone stopped laughing.

"We don't know, sir," one of the girls said. "It felt like something was tickling us." Annabeth hastily put her wand away, but not before Emma saw it. She raised an eyebrow but otherwise said nothing.

"Well, since it's over, I hope that you've had a good laugh and that we can start class." Professor Slughorn then started the lesson. Annabeth saw Tom look around in wonder of who could've done it, and his eyes fell on Annabeth. He then turned back. Annabeth exhaled and turned her mind to the lesson, but while she was making her potion, a note appeared on her part of the table. She took it and read it under the table.

'_I know it was you_,' it said in familiar handwriting. '_No one else in this class is really competent enough to have performed such advanced magic well_.' Annabeth rolled her eyes. That was no proof. She and her new friends had practiced the spell last night, and while Annabeth had gotten it first, it didn't take too long for the others to get the hang of it. When class was over, Annabeth left, eager to see Edward and tell him about their prank's success. She saw him with three of his other friends.

"It went great! They didn't know what hit them." Annabeth whispered excitedly. The others smiled brightly at her and gave her a thumbs-up.

"Good job! That was brilliant of you," they said. Annabeth was feeling relaxed and free, more so than she had felt in a long time. Later, she talked to Emma.

"I can't believe that you did that Annabeth! How could you?"

"First of all Emma," Annabeth started. "The spell, the prank was harmful. I did it before class started so it couldn't affect the potions and lead to disasterous results. We all decided last night that our prank wouldn't disrupt class, so don't worry about that. Besides, the worst thing that happened is that they laughed. Big deal. People need a laugh."

"I won't argue with you. But do you think it's helping you and Edward get closer?" Emma asked eagerly. "I know that he's one of my best friends along with you, but I can't help but ask."

"As friends, yes. As more, I don't think so yet. But I'm grateful that I have this much, and that Edward likes me for me."

"Well my friend, I wish you luck as long as you and Edward being together won't ruin the friendship of us three." Emma stated sincerely.

Annabeth didn't realize when the school year ended. It passed quite quickly as Annabeth either spent a lot of time studying, pranking people with her friends, or having heart-to-hearts with Emma. She had felt a lonely pang at Christmas, when she and Tom were two of the few people who had decided to stay back for Christmas, but that went away when Emma and Edward decided to stay behind with her. The last day arrived, and as Annabeth was about to board the train, she looked back at Hogwarts sadly. _Oh well, I'll be here in three months, but I sure will miss it_. Emma was talking to Annabeth beside her, so she turned her attention back to Emma.

"Hello Annabeth. Stop looking at Hogwarts like that, you know that you'll be back. Besides, were you even listening? You're not going back to that orphanage. Ever. My parents filled out the paperwork, and they adopted you. I figured that you'd like that, since we're practically sisters anyways. Annabeth stared at Emma, not believing what Emma had just said. Then, she squealed and hugged Emma.

"Thank you," Annabeth said with sincere gratitude in her voice. For a split second, she thought about how Tom would feel. _I hope he doesn't feel too bad. I mean, after all of this time we've spent together, we'll be separated_. But then, her thoughts got defensive. _He separated himself from me, not the other way around. We were separated before this. But I do feel guilty because I know that Tom had my best intrests at heart. And besides, if I don't patch things up with him, he might become hateful towards people and believe that it's pointless to be nice to them. That could set him on the track to becoming Voldemort, and I could never let a little of my pride destroy him like that. No, I'll apologize to him_. "Emma? Can you save me a seat in a compartment? I want to go talk to Tom." Emma nodded understandingly and went. Annabeth looked for Tom. She found him amongst a group of other Slytherins. He seemed to be at their head, almost as their leader. Annabeth supressed a shudder at the thought of future death eaters, and approached Tom.

"Tom?" she asked tenatively. "Can I talk to you?"

"You are already talking to me," he sneered.

"I mean, alone." Annabeth braced herself for a reaction that was sure to come from atleast one of the other boys, and sure enough, it did.

"_Ooooh_, she wants to talk to you _alone_," one of the Slytherins jeered. Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Grow up," she replied. "Tom, please?" Then, she realized that she sounded like she was begging, and realized that she had to retain dignity. "After all, you told Edward that if I wanted to talk to you, I'd have to do so myself, so here I am. Now if you won't talk to me, you can hardly blame me for not trying to patch things up." Tom seemed to condsider this. _Please, please, please? I'd feel really guilty if I wouldn't get to apologize to you, because I know that I'm partially at fault_, Annabeth thought.

"Alright," Tom said finally. "Malfoy, you and the others go find a compartment. I'll be there in a few minutes." The other Slytherins walked off, and Tom and Annabeth stepped to the side. He cast a 'Silencio' around them, and spoke.

"So, you wanted to say something?" he asked expectantly.

"It's probably not exactly what you expect, so get that smug look off your face." Annabeth started. She cursed herself at sounding mean, but she was going to apologize, so she forgave herself. Then, she started. "Look, that day, I was upset that you had tried to ask me stuff with force. I didn't like that, and I was mad at you for that. That very night, I realized that you were only doing that because you cared about me, and I wanted to apologize to you. But my pride got the best of me, and I was still angry about you using force. I was sure that you realized why I was angry, and I was upset when you didn't apologize to me. Then I felt that I shouldn't apologize to you. I wanted to, but I, well, my other me, apologized a lot even when it wasn't really her fault all that much. I found her, me, you know, weak. I hated that, and I didn't want to be like that. So I apologize for overreacting, but I don't apologize for my anger itself, which I felt was justified." She waited, eager to see what Tom thought because his face, which showed a few signs of expression such as mild surprise, was now blank. Tom seemed to consider what Annabeth had just said. Finally, he opened his mouth to reply.


	30. Chapter 29

Tom thought about everything Annabeth had said. _She really is sorry. But she let her foolish pride carry her away_. _But I suppose that I did the same thing. I atleast should've apologized for using Veritaserum. But I didn't because if she had trusted me in the first place, I wouldn't have had to do so. But I suppose that friends don't tell each other everything. Yeah, but we've been friends for six years. She owes me that much. But it doesn't matter now, because she apologized_. As if Annabeth had read Tom's mind, she started saying something else.

"Tom, you're my best friend, and I'm sorry for not telling you about that book. I do trust you, and I promise that I'll tell you everything, even if you don't want to hear it," Annabeth finished with a small smile. "And I'm just going to say this one last thing. I'm sincerely sorry for overreacting. If you want to accept my apology and say sorry for using Veritaserum against me, that's fine. If not, well..." Annabeth trailed off. Tom didn't say anything, and Annabeth turned around to leave.

"It's okay, Annabeth. And I'm sorry for using Veritaserum against you." Annabeth turned around again and smiled. Her smile turned into a frown though.

"What's wrong?" Tom asked.

"Tom, I won't be coming back to the orphanage. Ever." Tom's brain reeled in shock. Annabeth, not at the orphanage? Why? Where would she be? Annabeth continued.

"Umm, Emma's family kind of, well, you know, adopted me. So now Emma and I are practically sisters. They filled out the paperwork, and it seems as if the orphanage was eager to get rid of its children, so I pretty much won't be coming back." Tom saw a mixture of happiness and worry in Annabeth's eyes. _She gets adopted and I don't, Tom thought. Lucky her_. But Tom supposed that it was unfair to think in such terms. After all, Tom wasn't really close to Emma, while she and Annabeth were practically sisters. And especially after the fight, Tom never spoke to Emma. It would've been downright strange if her parents had decided to adopt a boy who was fighting with their daughter's friend and didn't speak to them at all.

"Tom, do you want to sit with Emma, Edward, and the rest of us?" Annabeth asked.

"Who's 'the rest of us'? Tom inquired.

"Oh, Edward's friends. They're funny."

"Are they the 'funny people' who went around playing pranks on the rest of us poor, innocent, unsuspecting students?" Tom asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You'd think that after a couple of days, the rest of you students wouldn't be 'unsuspecting', wouldn't you?" Annabeth retorted. "The pranks were always before class actually started, and they never hurt anyone." Tom scoffed, but said no more on the subject.

"I think that I'll sit with my other friends. They've saved a compartment for me, and besides, I wouldn't feel comfortable around your Gryffindork friends," Tom said good-naturedly. Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Stupid Slytherins. Well, see you later," Annabeth said. She went back to her compartment, and Tom went to find his fellow Slytherins. The trip passed agonizingly slow for Tom, becuase as their leader, he had to pretend to be interested in their conversations. He couldn't be immersed in a book or talk to Annabeth. When they finally arrived at the station, Tom got off, said goodbye to the other Slytherins, and went to look for Annabeth. He found her with Emma and Emma's parents. Emma turned around and saw Tom, and Emma waved at him.

"Mom, dad, can Tom stay too? He and Annabeth were fighting before, but now they made up. Please?"

"Well, we weren't ready for him, because of the fight that you told us about. But Tom can come with us. It won't take long to make arrangements for him."

"How much do your parents know about the argument?" Tom whispered to Emma.

"Nothing. I pretended like I didn't really understand what it was about, and they didn't pry." Tom nodded. He heard someone come up behind the trio and felt a tap on his shoulder. Tom turned around, as did Emma and Annabeth.

"Well, goodbye," said Edward. "See you later." Then, he walked off with his parents, who waved heartily to Emma's parents and the three children.

"Edward won't be staying with us?" Annabeth asked, trying to sound mildly curious but utterly failing. Tom could clearly hear the dejection in her voice. He'd have to help Annabeth work on that.

"No, he won't," Emma replied. "Upset, are you?" she teased.

"Who, me? No, I was just wondering. Okay, maybe I'm a little upset because now I'll be the only prankster at your place, and it would've been nice to have someone else who didn't think pranks are stupid and a waste of time." Annabeth tried to sound nonchalant, but her blush gave her away. Tom smirked.

"It's okay Annabeth. You can admit it to me that you're absolutely infatuated with Edward." Tom saw that Emma had a smirk on her face as well. She whispered something to Tom, and his smirk grew even more pronounced.

"But don't tell her yet, okay? It's a surprise." Emma finished whispering. Tom nodded.

"What, what?" Annabeth asked eagerly. But Tom and Emma wouldn't say.

"We won't tell you. And don't bother asking my parents either. They're in on this too." Emma said.

"In on what?" Annabeth demanded, but to no avail.

"Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough. It's a surprise, let's just say that." Emma said, and smiled.

**A.N.: Okay guys, what do you think is the big surprise? Any guesses?**


	31. Chapter 30

Annabeth was sad. Edward wouldn't be spending the summer with them. Tom was staying with them though, so she was glad. He and Emma seemed to be sharing a secret though, a secret that she couldn't guess. Since when did Tom keep secrets from her? _Well_, she mused, _Tom Riddle is a secretive person, and I suppose that he was that way even before he decided to become Lord Voldemort. But this seems like a playful secret, a surprise. Oh, what could it be? _They settled down and started talking, but Tom and Emma kept exchanging glances. To distract herself, Annabeth started talking to Emma about Quidditch.

"Oh, I do hope that I can try out for the Quidditch team either next year or the year after." Annabeth said. "Flying is fun, but I haven't flown since our first flying lesson last year."

"Yeah, but I have two broomsticks if you want to fly. We can fly together, and it'll be fun." Emma replied.

"Why do you have two broomsticks?" Annabeth asked.

"One is my younger brother's. But I'm sure that he won't mind sharing with you." Emma replied. _Oh right_, Annabeth thought. Emma had a younger brother named Timothy, but they didn't talk too much about him and she hadn't seen him last year.

"Where was he last year?" Annabeth asked.

"He was at his friend's place. And he'll be starting Hogwarts this year. He's excited. Oh look! There he comes now." Annabeth turned. Emma's brother was petite, with light brown hair and a nice bright smile. He had a beautiful mahogany broomstick in his hand.

"The weather outside is perfect for flying!" He exclaimed. His eyes then caught sight of Tom and Annabeth.

"Hello," he said timidly. "You're Tom, right? And you must be Annabeth. Emma has said so much about you." His cheeks flushed with color as he looked at Annabeth.

"Well, that's nice," Annabeth said, unsure of what to say. "You must be Timothy." But before Timothy could respond, Emma interjected.

"Hey, Timmy, do you think Annie could use your broomstick?" she asked.

"Don't call me Timmy and I will." He replied cheekily.

"Fine. Please Timothy?" Timothy relented, and Emma got her broomstick while Annabeth took Timothy's broomstick. They then rushed outside and flew for hours. _It's magical_, Annabeth sighed in wonder, and realized the irony of the statement. The rest of the day flew by, and before Annabeth knew it, she was fast asleep in her new room.

The next morning, Annabeth woke up and went to have breakfast. To her surprise, there were three pieces of luggage in the dining room, one of which she recognized as hers. It seemed to be all packed. _What is going on_?

"Are we going somewhere?" Annabeth asked.

"Yes we are," Emma said. "And we won't tell you where, so don't bother asking. Just change into a different set of clothes after breakfast. Your closet already has a few outfits which I picked out. We're about the same size anyway, and we can use magic to adjust the rest." Annabeth wasn't upset though, since Emma had good taste in fashion. After eating breakfast, Annabeth went up to change. She picked out a nice hot-pink top which, while it was too modest for her taste, was pretty. _Besides, what do I expect from the 1940s_? Annabeth paired it with a black skirt which reached mid-calf. She supposed that she looked nice. Emma's mom came up to Annabeth's room.

"Do you need anything?" she asked. Because she was sure that they were going someplace special, Annabeth asked Emma's mom if she could curl her hair. _Well, she's my mom too now_, Annabeth thought. _I'll have to get used to calling her that_. Emma's mom obliged, took out her wand, and started curling Annabeth's hair. She then put her hair up halfway so that her raven-black hair, which was in loose curls, cascaded down her shoulder. 

"You look lovely," her mom gushed. And Annabeth supposed that she did. The best part was that with magic, she could change her hair as much as she wanted and it wouldn't damage it like the muggle flat-irons and curling-irons would. She went downstairs to join Emma and Tom. Emma was wearing a red blouse with a navy-blue skirt, and her hair was pin-straight. Tom was wearing casual black pants and a simple white shirt, yet he looked so well put-together. Annabeth gazed at him. _He does look good. This outfit brings out his stormy gray eyes as well. I guess I can see why the other girls act like fools around him. Not that I would ever do that, but I suppose I can see why they would do that_. She caught Tom looking at her in what she guessed must be a similar fashion, but he raised an eyebrow at her, bringing her out of her reverence.

"You look different Tom," Annabeth said, pulling her mouth into a smirk. "It's a good thing that your fan club isn't here, or else they'd start simpering and giggling, and it would make me sick." Tom blanched at the thought, and Annabeth laughed.

"Although," he continued. "Since you're not a part of that fan club, atleast I presume, that means that for you to have made that inference you admit that I look good." Tom smirked at her, and now Annabeth wrinkled her nose, though in her mind she was hitting herself on the head. How could she have been so careless? She did think that he looked good, but she didn't have to practically say that to him, did she? _I shouldn't be allowed to talk. I should have to walk around with a big piece of duct tape on my mouth. Or better, maybe I should just have someone cast a 'Langlock' on me_. But Annabeth decided to try to preserve her pride and reply.

"I've simply had to deal with them in class and in our dorms enough for me to be able to guess their reactions," Annabeth replied smoothly. _Maybe being around Tom Riddle has changed me. Oh well, I think it's a good change. But heaven forbid that I comment on his, well, nice appearance like that. I shouldn't do that, or let myself get distracted by that, until I'm sure that he won't be Lord Voldemort. After all, I'm sure that his appearance, combined with his feigned innocence, contributed to charming people to do what they wanted. I must be careful and focused_.

"So, is anyone going to tell me where we're going?" Annabeth asked in mock frustration, but some of it was real.

"Nope," Emma replied. "Here, hold on to mom's hand. I'll hold her other, and dad will Apparate with Tom." Her mom turned, and Annabeth felt the sensation of being pulled through a long skinny tube. They arrived in a nice little village, and they all walked. After a short walk, they arrived to a rich, grand manor. It's beautiful, Annabeth thought. The manor was grand, and the ground around was perfect, albeit simple. But the most surprising thing was not the manor, or the lawn. The most surprising thing was the face of the person who openec the door.


	32. Chapter 31

**Thank you for your review ozwoman. I really appreciate reviews. Also, thank you to the many people who have added my story to their Alert or Favorite susbscriptions. These are important for me as a writer, for motivation.**

Tom saw the look of pure shock on Annabeth's face. Her face lit up into a smile at the sight of Edward, making her look lovelier than she already did. Tom quickly shook that thought out of his head. _I think that she already caught me staring at her. I hope I didn't look like a stupid starstruck boy when it was nothing_. Tom nearly laughed when he saw Annabeth run to Edward and hug him.

"These two," Annabeth said, pointing at Emma and Tom himself, "wouldn't tell me where we were going and I was sad that we three were together and that you were missing out." Edward looked surprised.

"Well, yeah, Emma told me to keep it a secret from you too, to surprise you, but I had no idea that you'd miss having a fellow prankster around so much." Annabeth looked at Emma and Emma smiled and nodded at her. Annabeth looked relieved that Emma hadn't told Edward about her crush on him. It was, however, pretty obvious, and Tom wondered if Edward truly hadn't noticed anything. He shook himself out of his thoughts and proceeded to go inside. Emma and Annabeth's parents, Tom thought ruefully, laughed quietly at the previous exchange, walked a few meters away, and Disapparated. The kids all went inside.

"I was flying on a broomstick with Emma yesterday, and it was amazing. I missed flying more than I realized. I see why people are addicted to Quidditch in the Wizarding world. It's a sport, which grabs the attention of most people anyway, and it involves flying, which makes it even better." Annabeth said animatedly.

"Well, how about we play a smaller version of Quidditch today? You and I can be the Chasers for each separate team, and Emma and Tom can be the Keepers. We have Quidditch posts out in our back yard, though they're not as big as the ones at Hogwarts and not as spaced out." Tom turned green when Edward mentioned having him fly.

"No thanks," Tom replied. "I'd prefer not to fly. I think it's boring." Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"If I didn't know any better, Tommy boy," Annabeth started, her voice heavy with playful sarcasm. "I'd say that you were scared. However, I know that our dear Tom can't possibly be scared. He's too above and beyond such trivial things." Emma and Edward laughed. Tom shook his head at Annabeth's words, knowing that she'd seen right through him, even though he wouldn't admit it. "But if that's the way you want it," Annabeth continued. "Then Emma can be seeker, if you have a Snitch Edward, and you and I can be Chasers. One-on-one Quidditch, more or less. And then you can't blame us for not trying to include you Tom. But you can watch if you want." Tom would usually rather read than watch a boring game of Quidditch, but he supposed that that would be impolite to Edward and his family, who had invited him, if he holed himself up in a room and read the whole time. More than that though, for he hadn't asked them to invite him, he supposed that he could afford to watch for a little while. It would be funny if Annabeth randomly fell off a broom as long as she didn't hurt herself. _Who knows, something amusing might happen_.

"Alright, but just for a little while." Tom finally replied.

"Sure," Edward said. "But we're not going to play right away. It's too early. We'll relax, talk, and then play." Annabeth and Emma agreed.

"Besides, Emma and I will change into something more suitable before playing Quidditch," Annabeth said, gesturing to her skirt. Everyone settled down and started talking. Annabeth, Emma, and Edward were talking about what classes they planned on taking next year. Tom was sure of only one thing; he was going to take advanced classes of as many subjects as he could, even the boring ones. Doing that would give him an advantage over other students. Annabeth was saying that she would definetly continue with Astronomy, but was planning on dropping Divination. Unfortunately, she still had to do History of Magic.

"Oh well. I probably wouldn't care less if I got a T in History of Magic, it's stupid really. But I suppose that I would care if the dunderheads at school got higher grades in History of Magic than I did, so I guess I would care, just not as much." Annabeth said. Emma said that she really liked Herbology. She wanted to be a Medi-witch, but she wasn't a hundred percent positive. Edward knew that he wanted to do Defense Against the Dark Arts since he wanted to be an Auror when he grew up.

"Tom, what about you?" the three other kids asked.

"Well, I'll take as many subjects as I can, but I want to be Minister of Magic when I grow up." Tom decided that since these three were his friends, especially Annabeth, he should first try to get them to support his cause. They wouldn't instantly judge him for being a Slytherin. "I have some ideas." Edward and Emma looked eager, but Annabeth looked a bit wary. She wasn't good at hiding her emotions, and Tom noticed that she was nervous.

"What kind of ideas?" Annabeth asked.

"Well, I think that wizards shouldn't have to live their life in hiding. What have we got to hide?" Tom noticed that now, even Edward and Emma were looking at him apprehensively. Well, he supposed, he hadn't really started right. But all he could do now was continue so that they would see that he wasn't trying to crush Muggles.

"Wizards have let Muggleborns into our world, because they can do magic. But because of Muggles' prejudice, we're shut out of their world. We have to worry about hiding our magic, setting Muggle-repelling wards on everything, and it's all unnecessary. If Muggles were more open-minded, we could use our magic to help Muggles without worrying about what they would think, and they could be in a part of our world. They can't do magic, so they wouldn't get access to Wizarding schools, or fly on brooms or anything like that, but they could enjoy some of the other things, like the magical candy or the magical jokes from a joke shop. If they could see this side of the magical world, I doubt that most Muggles would be convinced that magic was evil. We're not doing anything wrong, and I think that Muggles should see that." Tom saw the other three ponder these ideas, Annabeth with a somewhat content smile upon her face.

"But then, Muggles will find it easy to blame any inexplicable phenomena on wizards and witches," Emma said. "Like heat waves, mysterious crimes, even wars."

"Maybe, but the public also blames politicians for every little thing that goes wrong. But that doesn't mean that the politicians go into hiding." Tom replied.

"Muggles will look suspiciously at wizards and witches, convinced that any passing magician could harm them." Edward said.

"Well, that's faulty prejudiced thinking that should be fixed then, shouldn't it?" Tom countered. "There are Muggles who hide guns and randomly shoot people, but that doesn't mean that Muggles look at every fellow Muggle suspiciously. If they feel that way towards magicians, then that is prejudice that should be fixed."

"But they'll bother us, won't they? They'll want magical solutions to their problems." Emma said.

"Can't we refuse them?" Tom asked back.

"Is it really worth all of this bother? Fuss with a world that's working fine to try to integrate wizards and Muggles? I mean, there's all of these obstacles mentioned, and then the fact that even if it works, and wizards and witches are allowed to do magic around Muggles, what if Muggle-haters harm Muggles? It'll be easier with an integrated world to do so, and if we can do magic around Muggles, then it'll be harder to detect misuse of that magic, will it not?" Annabeth finally said. Tom thought about this a bit. She did have a point. But he said:

"It'll be easy to tell a magical crime from a non-magical crime. And the government officials will catch the perpetrator of the crime." The others seemed to consider this. "Anyone can be good or bad. Most witches and wizards are good, and some Muggles are so bad that they do more damage than Dark wizards can. Look at World War II that has started between so many Muggles of different countries." That seemed to be the main point. They all nodded.

"We agree with you, and we'll support you to become Minister of Magic when you're older," they said.

"As long as your ways are right," Annabeth finished. Tom looked at her strangely, wondering at the sliver of doubt in her eyes.

"Of course, Annabeth." Tom said.


	33. Chapter 32

Annabeth changed into a pair of slacks and went outside. Edward handed her and Emma broomsticks, and then they opened the box with the Quaffles, Bludgers, and the Snitch. Edward's mother had come out at this point, and she took Edward's broomstick, flew up in the air, and drew an invisible rectangular boundary around the backyard.

"Now the Snitch won't fly out of our yard," Edward's mom said kindly, and went back inside. Annabeth, Emma, and Edward flew into the air. Annabeth had the Quaffle. She tried to fly past Edward, but he flew after her and, while trying to grab the Quaffle from her hands, grabbed her arms. Shivers ran up Annabeth's arms, and Edward looked stunned. Then, he tried to knock the Quaffle out of her hands, but Annabeth tucked the Quaffle under her arms and flew past Edward, and threw the Quaffle into the goal. But her aim being horrible, the Quaffle missed the goal by about forty feet. Everyone else was laughing.

"It's not as easy as it looks Tom!" Annabeth exclaimed. "I'd like to see you try before you laugh at me."

"But I'm not the one who wanted to play Quidditch," Tom replied. Annabeth sighed in exasperation. It was now Edward's turn with the Quaffle. He flew toward's the goalpost that Annabeth was guarding, but she did the first thing she could think of, and tickled Edward. She only tickled him for a second, but it was enough to make him drop the Quaffle.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Edward yelped.

"If we're allowed to crash into other players in Quidditch, then surely we're allowed to tickle them?" Annabeth asked playfully. The game went on like that similarly, with neither able to score goals, until Emma saw the Snitch and caught it. In their game, Emma was neutral and when she caught it, the game was simply over. It was tied. They went back inside, and the childern were in good spirits. Emma was laughing (at the stalemate, she claimed, but Annabeth suspected otherwise), Annabeth was blushing, and she was sure that Edward was too. Tom wasn't laughing, but his smile seemed marginally bigger. They went inside and had a big lunch, prepared by house-elves. Annabeth, her future self by now having read all of the Harry Potter books, was shocked at that.

"You...have...house-elves?" she asked Edward, shocked. Edward saw the expression of disbelief on her face.

"Yes, but they like working. My ancestors set them free a long time ago, but they still feel loyal to our family, and like the fact that we're kind to them." Annabeth sighed in relief.

"Ok. That's good." Then, Tom explored their house and curled up in the Potter library. Annabeth found it ironic that Tom Marvolo Riddle was reading books that belonged to the grandfather of the only boy who'd ever defeat him. _You musn't think like that_, Annabeth chided herself. _You must be optimistic that things will change_. _Look at his views on muggleborns. They're different - for now, atleast, and hopefully they'll stay different. He doesn't even hate Muggles, so that's good_. She was taken out of her thoughts when Emma dragged her to what was their room, and was giggling.

"You know, I had found the Snitch quite early into the game, but I figured that I should let you guys play your little game," she said gleefully. "You two seemed quite cozy up there."

"Emma! That's rubbish. It was my first time playing Quidditch, and I'm not used to the contact that is required to snatch the Quaffle out of the opposing Chaser's hands..." Annabeth trailed off.

"That's a boatload of dung and we both know it," her new sister replied. "Anyways, I'm glad that Tom's views on muggleborns and Muggles aren't bad. Looks like he hasn't been influenced by the other snakes." Emma said.

"Yeah Emma, not all Slytherins are bad." Annabeth said. "But, I have to admit, I did...sort of...enjoy the Quidditch game earlier. Oh god I'm so girly!"

"There's nothing wrong with that. You can be girly and smart. Just because you're girly doesn't mean that you're a dunderhead like some of the girls." Emma then put on a mocking voice. "'Oh have you seen Marcus? He's so hot! He's got amazing muscles, he's so handsome, and he's good at Quidditch! How dreamy.'" Annabeth was laughing till her sides hurt.

The rest of the summer proceeded in a similar fashion. Emma and Annabeth would talk, they'd play Quidditch, Annabeth would occasionly read with Tom and work on her homework, and she'd eat a lot. But the most interesting part of her summer was pranking Emma and Tom along with Edward. Before they knew it, they were on the Hogwart's Express.

"I'm glad that you guys liked it at my place," Edward said, looking at Annabeth.

"Well, yes." Annabeth said. She was getting better at controlling her blush. "It was fun playing pranks on these two." Annabeth laughed at Tom and Emma, who pretended to look disgruntled. Annabeth and Tom then launched into a discussion about what they thought their new classes would be like. They were excited because they got to pick their classes this year, and they couldn't wait. _It's like Muggle high-school_, Annabeth thought, _where your choices have a big impact_. Annabeth was getting relatively good at ignoring the events of her future self, but that was probably because her summer was relatively uneventful. Her self had read a lot of stories called 'fanfictions', where other writers wrote stories based off of existing stories. Her future self had read a lot of Tom Riddle fanfics, and his character was mostly decipted as cold and unfeeling, with occasional stories showing him as emotional, but that was after he'd fallen in love with someone. Annabeth was nervous. Would her friendship make a difference on Tom in the long run? Would she even matter to him when all was said and done?


	34. Chapter 33

Tom was happy to be back. When he sat down at his House table, the other Slytherins started talking to him. He responded with one word answers, but one of the Slytherins asked him something relatively important.

"Any progress with your mission?" he asked.

"Yes. I got a few more supporters, and they'll try to get more people to our case," Tom said impassively. He continued with dinner and later fell asleep. He figured that Slytherin was the right house for him, but he wished that he had worthy people in his house. He wished that Annabeth was in his House. Tom realized that the Slytherins weren't too sure about his opinions on muggleborns and Muggles, but they followed him more out of fear than anything else. Even if he agreed with them, they were so obsessed with getting to top positions in society, money, and fame. Of course, he was also thinking about how to get to the top, how to become Minister of Magic, but that was to change society instead of merely personal and superficial purposes. He fell asleep.

The next day, everyone was in the Great Hall for breakfast. Tom got his schedule and looked at it. He wondered if Annabeth would be in the same classes as he was, but he wasn't going to compare schedules with her right now while everyone was having breakfast, as she had done the previous year. He didn't want to look conspicuous, and going to the opposing House table in the middle of the Great Hall would qualify as exactly that. He figured that he'd talk to Annabeth later, once breakfast was over. He ate little and in a proper manner, as he always did, and when everyone was done with their breakfast, he walked calmly and found Annabeth.

"What classes do you have?" he asked her. They compared schedules and found that they had four out of seven classes together.

"That's decent, I suppose. I mean Emma and Edward are fellow Gryffindors, but I only share two classes with them. They share all of their classes too!" Tom laughed lightly because Annabeth sounded a bit angry and jealous. He could easily read her emotions like an open book.

"Oh well. Maybe you'll have classes with a relatively smart person besides me. There are a couple of those kinds of people; smart, sharp-minded, but not as enthusiastic about learning as we are. But maybe it'll be interesting."

"Yeah, maybe I'll make new friends. That'll be nice, I suppose."

"You don't need many friends. What are they for?"

"Just for company. Just because having many friends isn't needed doesn't mean that it's not nice. Hey, while I'm at it, I'll talk about your case. I'll just start by saying something like 'oh, it's sad that we can't use our knowledge to help Muggles much. I mean, not openly'. After all, it's the main reason we're doing this, right? Not to take over them, but to live peacefully and openly with them, right?" Annabeth looked at Tom expectantly, as if seeking reassurance for some reason.

"Right," Tom said, but he didn't mention that the major reason he was doing this was not to help those prejudiced Muggles but to get out of hiding. He didn't want wizards and witches to hide for no reason, when they weren't doing anything wrong. They headed off to their first class together, Transfiguration, which was one of the few classes that Annabeth shared with Emma and Edward. That went as usual, but the four were separated for the next class. Tom had Potions while Annabeth had Charms, and Emma and Edward had Herbology. In Potions, Professor Slughorn had his usual over-jolly attitude which irritated Tom to no end, though he didn't let it show on his face.

"So, let's see what you remember. What do you add to a cough potion that turns it orange?" Tom, as usual, pretended to think for a moment before he put his hand in the air, but to his surprise, there was another hand that had joined his in the air. Annabeth wasn't in this class, and even she took a little longer to remember the answers, so who was it? It was a girl, Tom could tell, because of the long, pink, manicured fingers. He looked to see who the arm belonged to. The girl who had raised her hand was wearing a green-and-silver ribbon in her dark-brown hair. Her hair was curled lightly and had black lowlights woven through it. She was a rather pretty girl. _She seems to have looks __and__ brains_, Tom thought. He couldn't remember her name, though he remembered that she was one of the girls who seemed the least impressed about him being Salazar Slytherin's heir. She was a little impressed, but it was one more of mild surprise and curiosity rather than reverence. He had admired that, though he didn't admit it.

"Yes Irina?" Oh, so Irina was her name, Tom thought. He deposited that nugget of information in a corner of his brain. Irina seemed worthy to remember.

"Root of Gabrodyl," she answered confidently.

"That is correct! Ten points to Slytherin!" Professor Slughorn boomed. "I now have two of my brightest Slytherins in the same class. I'm glad!" That confirmed Tom's notion of her being smart. He decided to perform one last test to see of she was a good adversary and a girl worthy of his time. He smiled his charming smile that would always have a lot of girls giggling and blushing at him and would have them analyze his smile to derive more meaning from it than was meant. Irina, however, raised an eyebrow at him while smirking at the same time, and then a second later, smiled a brilliant, charming smile that would have had a lot of other guys willing to jump off a cliff for. Tom was a lot more composed than that, but he had to admit that this girl was intriguing. She seemed to be like him. After class, he walked up to her.

"Hello. I don't think you've ever been in one of my classes. You seem like a smart, charming girl. What's your name?" Irina looked at Tom not with delight in her eyes but doubt.

"I'm Irina. Don't you remember from earlier in class?" the girl said bitingly.

"I apologize. I was simply trying to ease into a conversation, since that's usually the polite way to start talking to someone. You are right though, I did remember your name. Let me start over. Hello Irina, my name is Tom." Irina smiled.

"Irina," the girl said, a sliver more at ease than started walking to their next class, which was Herbology. Annabeth is in this class, Tom remembered, and was curious. Irina probably hadn't been in any of Annabeth's classes either because Annabeth and Tom had shared most of their classes up until this year. How would class go with the three of them in it at once? _It'll be interestingly competitive_, Tom thought. They ran into Annabeth on the way there. She was talking to a couple of Ravenclaw girls.

"Hey Tom! Glad you're in this class, otherwise Herbology would've been even more dull than usual." Tom nodded. Annabeth then turned to Irina. "Hello. I've seen you around a couple of times but I haven't really talked to you. What's your name?"

"Irina," the girl replied. Annabeth flinched at the girl's cold tone, but she continued trying to make conversation. Tom didn't understand why Annabeth always tried to make conversation with people, but he was used to it after seven years.

"I'm Annabeth." Irina simply nodded.

"How are the classes so far? What's Potions like?" Annabeth asked.

"Easy, as usual," Irina said, and was silent. Annabeth gave up trying to make conversation since it was clear that they weren't necessarily going to be best friends. During class, though, it was quite competitive between the three, especially between Tom and Irina. Annabeth wasn't as enthusiastic about excelling in this class, but Tom wasn't surprised because Annabeth didn't like Herbology, and she didn't really try as hard in the classes that she didn't like. She paid attention, sure, but wasn't as eager to go above and beyond. After he was done potting and watering his plant, which had seemed keen on attacking him, Tom couldn't help but compare Irina, the most unique girl he'd met, to Annabeth, a girl he'd known for a long time. They were both smart academically, but that was about all they had in common besides their dark hair. Annabeth was a loud, bubbly girl who was really nice, polite, and warm towards everyone, while Irina in turn seemed icy towards everyone. Annabeth, though not as much as other girls, did gush about the guy she liked, while Irina seemed like she would consider such crushes trivialties and Tom thought that she wouldn't bother with such things. Annabeth was quite open, sharing her thoughts and feelings easily while Irina seemed like she masked her feelings behind either mild interest or annoyance. It seemed like their appearances seemed to reflect that. While they both had dark hair, Annabeth was somewhat tan, and though it had faded over the years of living in cold Britain, she still had a warm skin-tone. Her eyes were also a dark chocolate brown. Irina was almost the opposite. She had porcelain skin, and her dark hair made her skin look more dramatic. Her eyes were an icy blue, and looked as if they had shards of broken glass that would pierce through a person's mind and soul with a glance from her. Tom didn't realize when class was over. He got up, and walked out. _I'll have to know Irina better_.

Later, he was doing homework with Annabeth. He figured that he wouldn't be able to do homework with Irina to get to know her better, and besides, doing homework together required some warmth between the two people, and he only had that with Annabeth. However, he planned on warming up to Irina atleast somewhat.

"Irina was interesting," Annabeth casually remarked.

"Yes, she's quite smart and intriguing, not at all like other girls." Tom said.

"Yeah, but she's a bit too cold, you know? Like those 'ice princess' types of girls," Annabeth said. Tom looked up and saw a flash of something in Annabeth's eyes. It looked like worry.

"Yeah. She's an equal. I want to get to know her better. But don't worry. I still know you better. You've still been my friend for longer." Tom hoped that she'd get the implied message that he trusted her more, that he was the most comfortable around her. However, he would never admit that out loud, because that would be too sentimental of him.

**Went to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 in 3D this Sunday. Ironic, because this past Sunday was July 31, which is Harry Potter's birthday. It was amazing! **

**Thank you anonymus reviewer Alice for giving me constructive feedback. I appreciate it, and I'll try to make longer chapters and time cuts. Also guys, thank you for reading my story. I'll try to get to the end soon, because for days, I've had the climax planned out in my head, and I can't wait to get to it. Irina will become more important as the story goes on, so she does have a purpose.**


	35. Chapter 34

**For those of you who've read the previous chapter before 8/3/2011, I've rewritten that chapter. I've made a huge time cut here, but there'll be a flashback the highlights of the two years past. Enjoy!**

Annabeth was ecstatic as she and Emma got on the train to Hogwarts. The past two years had been wonderful. Edward had asked her out during the third year on the day of their first Hogsmeade trip, and she was thrilled. From then on, Annabeth, Emma, and Edward would hang out a bit, the three of them, and then Emma would leave the other two alone. Annabeth kept her balance though. She still spent time with Emma and Tom; the only difference was that now her time with Edward had a more romantic feel to it, which was completely fine with her. Tom and Irina seemed to be getting along well, but Annabeth's initial worry was quelled. Tom's attitude towards others didn't change from hanging out with Irina, and his opinion on muggleborns and Muggles hadn't changed. He hadn't really convinced Irina of his views, but she hadn't convinced him of her pureblood views; atleast, Annabeth didn't think so, because Tom still wanted Annabeth and her friends to talk to others about his viewpoint. This past summer, Edward stayed at her and Emma's house, and they went to Paris for vacation. She and Edward had even gone on a couple of dates! Her future self had read even more fanfics, and Annabeth was even more nervous because some of the ones which portrayed Tom as evil did a pretty good job of it, and while Tom seemed not to be anti-Muggle, she wasn't sure how he'd react if he learned the truth about his father, which she was sure he didn't know. Her future self had watched the last Harry Potter movie, and had enjoyed it. Today though, the mental connection between her two selves had been severed. _I must've gone back in time now_, Annabeth thought. _Well, atleast I won't have to deal with my self's crush on Brandon and her agony about losing her friend Drake while I have a boyfriend of my own_. She was excited about starting her fifth year. Annabeth caught sight of Tom though, and she frowned. Tom's face was an impassive mask, but his eyes seemed to have anger bubbling underneath the surface.

"Tom! What's wrong?" Annabeth asked. Tom looked at her. Annabeth had written to Tom while he was at the orphanage the past two years. Annabeth wanted to invite Tom, but he said that he didn't feel as comfortable around Emma and Edward. He couldn't really talk to them all that much, so the other three kids had written to Tom and sent letters by owl. He was fine until now, and if something happened over the summer, he never told her about it.

"Nothing," Tom said calmly, but Annabeth wouldn't be deterred.

"Tom, I've known you for nine years. That's enough time to learn to pick up on anyone's body language, even the slightest signs. I can tell that you're angry, it's in your eyes." Annabeth could see Tom try to calm his eyes. "Too bad, I already know."

"Well, you're wrong," Tom said smugly, "so be quiet." _That's the problem_, Annabeth realized. _I'm being loud, and Tom doesn't want others to hear_.

"Ok then. Guess what! Edward and I came up with an idea to prank Emma, and we'll need you to help," Annabeth said. Emma was a short distance away talking to Edward, so she couldn't hear her. Annabeth leaned in to whisper in Tom's ear, and said, "I'll be quiet for now, but you _will_ tell me. Or else I won't leave you alone." Tom glared at Annabeth in annoyance, and she laughed.

"Fine. But we'll get our own compartment. You can join Emma and Edward later," Tom nearly growled. Annabeth agreed. She told Emma and Edward that she'd be sitting with Tom for a while, and told them to save her a seat since she'd be joining them later.

"We'll be discussing our homework and the more advanced material of our next classes, or else I'd have invited you." Emma gladly agreed, not wanting to participate in that. Edward seemed a bit reluctant for a second, but agreed without a trace of any apprehensiveness. He trusted his girlfriend, and he understood that her and Tom's friendship was deep, and that they might need to discuss something. Annabeth and Tom got a compartment, locked it, and cast a 'muffliato'. _This is a very helpful spell_, Annabeth thought, remembering all of the times she had used it. "Now Tom. What's up? Why are you upset?" she asked gently. The anger that was bubbling right under the surface of his dark gray eyes exploded so that now his eyes were stormy, and seemed to swirl.

"I was researching Little Hangleton. The town where my _father_ lives," Tom spat the word 'father'. Annabeth inhaled sharply, and started blocking her mind. Her lessons with Dumbledore were over, and she'd been learning how to plant false memories in her brain by herself, since Dumbledore wouldn't teach her. She didn't know if Tom could do Legillimency, but she didn't want to take a chance.

"Your father is alive?" Annabeth faked surprise, and hoped it was good enough. She knew that Tom had a natural instinct for being able to tell when someone was lying. Of course she knew that his father was still alive; from the books, she knew that he'd live until Tom killed him, which according to the timeline was the summer following the next.

"Yes. He must've abandoned my mother. He, a mere Muggle, abandoned my witch mother, heir of Salazar Slytherin, and is now living comfortably in his wealth while my mother died at a filthy orphanage giving birth to me! How dare he! I've always wondered what it would be like to have a father, even after finding out that my father was probably a Muggle, but now I'm glad I don't because my father was a dirty slimy git!" Tom's voice was burning with so much anger that Annabeth was surprised that there wasn't Fiendfyre coming out of his mouth. "I've never seen a single Muggle who was kind and accepting of the truth about wizards and witches. The Muggles at the orphanage, my father, they're all dirt!"

"Tom! Not all Muggles are like that. Look at all of the muggleborns' parents. They come from kind, accepting families."

"That's only because they see the usefulness of having a magician in the family." Tom said contemptuously.

"First of all, you just said that Muggles had to accept magic peacefully, not embrace it. Second of all, Muggle parents could be worried about their kids using magic against them. After all, kids can do so once they're seventeen, and Muggles don't come of age and can't legally go against their parents until they're eighteen. But the parents still love and accept their children despite this. Third of all, how would you know that Muggle parents only accept magical children because of their usefullness? How do you know that they're not simply proud of their children for their special abilities?" Annabeth thew her questions at Tom indignantly.

"You're right. I wouldn't know," Tom said quietly. Annabeth instantly felt guilty. She wondered if Tom was acting._Probably, since he never seemed to want a parent's love. However, I only feel guilty for my last question, not anything else, so he can't guilt me out of my opinions_. She figured it was safe to express her guilt.

"I'm sorry Tom," Annabeth whispered. Tom looked at the floor. _I wonder if he's smirking, thinking he's fooled me_, Annabeth wondered. "Even if I accept your prejudice against Muggles, which I can't because I was nearly Muggle and I still accepted you and your magic, which proves that not everyone is like that, what's your problem with muggleborns? What have they done wrong?"

"They have those Muggles as parents and learn from them. They shouldn't be in our world."

"Tom, they can do magic. They're wizards or witches. They belong in the Wizarding world. Besides, what would you say about me?"

"You're different. You've grown up mostly away from your parents, so their Muggle teachings didn't infect you. Besides, you're smarter than the others." Tom stated matter-of-factly.

"Their Muggle teachings didn't infect me? Tom, what are you even talking about? So now it comes down to intelligence? There are smart muggleborns! Like Jane Wright who's in some of my classes. Just because she's not as much of a perfectionist as you doesn't mean she's smart. All of the muggleborns in Ravenclaw are the same way! Besides, we're both smart, and I'm definetly muggleborn while you were raised by Muggles, so you didn't have wizarding influence on your intelligence!" Annabeth was angry now, and was glad about the 'silencio'. "And what's so special about the purebloods? Edward and Emma aren't any nicer than the muggleborns, I simply happen to know them better. I am friends with muggleborns though. Plus, all of those Slytherin purebloods are just as prejudiced towards Muggles as some Muggles are towards magic."

"For good reason though! Don't you remember you told me about the Salem witch trials that took place in America? And those were for things as common and unavoidable as infant death and crop failure! Those Muggles believed that we joined hands witht the devil because of natural phenomena. None of the accused were even wizards or witches!"

"But don't hate all of the people before knowing whether they're against magic or not! That's not fair to Muggles who like magic! Like I nearly was." Annabeth was near tears because she knew that if she didn't try harder, she'd fail, and Tom would become Voldemort. Not only did she not want innocent people to lose their lives, she didn't want the fate that she knew would be Tom's to happen to her best friend.

"I'm changing my plans. The Muggles should know that they, their talentless ordinary selves, have no right to try to show their prejudice and hatred towards those more powerful than them. I plan to make sure that Muggles know that, and muggleborns will have to be careful. Don't worry Annabeth. You won't be affected. After all, you were never like them."

"Tom, Muggles are probably scared of exactly what you said, which is probably why they act the way they do. If we assure them that we don't want to, I'm sure that they won't hate wizards, and everyone will be happy. Please think about that. I'll leave now." Annabeth took down the 'silencio', unlocked the compartment, and left. She joined Emma and Edward, sitting beside the latter and taking his hand in hers. She really needed that comfort now. She simply told them that Tom didn't want to so all of those things that he'd been planning on, and that he was rethinking his life, which wasn't a lie. Before long, she was laughing and talking with all of her other friends.

A whole year passed. Annabeth and Tom were on relatively good terms, though Annabeth kept trying to dissuade Tom, and Tom wouldn't be dissuaded. Tom seemed to be a bit busier as time went on, but Annabeth put that off to more thorough and individual O.W.L. preparation. As the year went on, Annabeth became more and more restless. She was extremely worried about Tom, and her heart panged whenever she thought about him splitting his soul, about him killing others, about him ceasing to exist at all by the time she was technically one year old. _It's just because we've been friends for so long that I'm that concerned about him_, Annabeth tried to assure herself, but she knew that she was lying, and had been lying to herself, for the past ten years. Annabeth finally had to admit to herself that she wasn't just concerned about him as a friend. She loved him. It had started as that crush she had on him when she was nine, and it never truly went away. She had just gotten better at squelching it. She remembered her future self once thinking 'if Tom existed, I'd have loved him. Truly love him'. _Well, he does exist and I do love him. What am I going to do though? I know I love Tom, but my feelings for Edward haven't completely disappeared. And because of that, I don't want to break up with Edward for a guy that I'll never have, especially when I know that I like Edward too, for now_. Annabeth barely realized what she was doing during her O.W.L.'s, performing on instinct. All too soon, summer came_. I hope he doesn't spend the whole summer scheming, though knowing Tom, that's what he will be doing_. When she was boarding the train, she saw Edward and Emma exchange troubled glances.

"What's wrong?" Annabeth asked.

"Can I talk to you?" Edward asked. He seemed uncomfortable. Annabeth nodded, and they stood out of the aisle.

"What do you want to talk about Edward?" Annabeth inquired. Edward was squirming a bit.

"Look, Annabeth, you're really nice, and sweet, and you're a wonderful girlfriend, but..." he trailed off. It clicked in.

"You want to break up with me," Annabeth finished for him. Edward looked sheepish. Annabeth was sad at having to let him go. They, after all, had a beautiful and perfect relationship. _But what's perfect? It wouldn't have stayed perfect if we truly didn't love each other. And since we both love someone else, our relationship can't be perfect. But as long as we don't break up on a sour note and stay friends, I'm happy. Truly. I know that I'm not like other girls who cling on to their boyfriends desperately. Even if I still liked Edward, I would've tried to let go gracefully_.

"Edward, it's fine. If you don't like me anymore, it would've been pointless to continue our relationship. I hold nothing against you."

"There's more," Edwared continued. "I...the thing is, I...well... kind of... like..." he mumbled at the end.

"Who?" Annabeth asked.

"Emma," he whispered. Annabeth turned shocked eyes to Emma, who was looking was blushing and looking sheepish.

"Emma, do you like Edward?"

"Yes," she said, embarrased.

"Why didn't you tell me? I'm your sister, and I never realized some of your deeper emotions! All of those times when I went on about Edward, you never said anything. Oh god, I feel so guilty." Annabeth shook her head, extremely upset.

"I'm your sister, though, and you two liked each other, so I didn't say anything for your happiness. You seemed happier than I'd ever seen you, and I didn't want to ruin that for you."

"You crazy girl!" Annabeth hugged Emma. Then, she put one hand on Edward's head and one hand on Emma's head.

"I give this couple my blessings," she said teasingly and then giggled. Then, she sobered. "The thing is," she whispered. "I also like someone else. I kind of like, well, Tom." Emma nearly squealed at this, and Edward seemed happier, as if his guilt was eased.

"I'm sure that you'll get lucky too. After all, you two are so perfect together. I never wanted to say this because you were such good friends, and I didn't want to taint that by saying that you two were made for each other, but it's true." Emma grinned at her sister.

"I sure hope that's true." Annabeth blushed, her emotions bubbling over. Her emotions changed from that of happiness to worry though. Annabeth masked her worry though. She didn't want Emma and Edward to see her worry. Yet. She'd tell them later, but at the right time. For now, all she could do was try to plan and hope that Tom didn't start upon his path to become Voldemort.


	36. Chapter 35

**Thank you all for reading my story, but especially, thank you Alice for your constant support. Just got onto Pottermore today at about 10:30 am ish. Eek! Anyways...**

Tom went through all of his classes mechanically. He performed just as well as usual, and made sure that no one noticed that something was wrong with him, but he was thinking about something else. He thought back to when he and Annabeth had discovered that he was Salazar Slytherin's heir. While reading up on Slytherin, he remembered reading something.

'_Slytherin and Gryffindor were good friends, and the four founders got along well. But they didn't agree on the selection of students for Hogwarts. While the other three believed that anyone who could do magic should be admitted to Hogwarts, Slytherin believed that only children from wizarding families should be allowed to learn at the school. Slytherin and Gryffindor had an argument, which resulted in Slytherin leaving the school. Some historians say that Slytherin left behind a Chamber, which is now known in stories as the Chamber of Secrets. The Chamber can only be opened by Slytherin's heir. In it lies a monster which the Heir could use to purge the school of 'impure blood'. No such chamber has been found however, so it remains a mystery_.'

Well, if Slytherin created the chamber, then it must be cleverly disguised, so of course no other ordinary person could've found it. Only the Heir can open it, which means that I'll be able to. He thought about the monster and the chamber itself. _If only the Heir could open it, then there must be a trait that separated them from everyone else. There's my intelligence, but I highly doubt that's it._ He thought about it, but finally decided that he would think about it later, when his classes weren't distracting him. Later, when all of his classes were over, Annabeth walked up to him, but he cut her off.

"Sorry Annabeth, I want to do my homework alone. I need some time to myself for once," he said coldly. Annabeth, looking hurt, walked away. Tom went to the library, which was his favorite place to just sit and think things through. _Now. What could it be_? Then, the answer practically slapped him in the face. _Of course! Parseltongue! I remember reading about that, and that's what proved to those other Slytherins that I was the Slytherin heir! So... the monster must be a snake of sorts_. Tom went and looked for a book of animals. He got out a lot of books and read through them all, but he didn't find anything until he got halfway down the stack. The book was titled: _The Most Dangerous Beasts of All Time_. Tom flipped through the pages impatiently until he found a picture of the bottom of what looked like a snake.

_Basilisks_, the heading read. Tom continued to read.

_'A Basilisk is a huge, monstrous snake. It is a very fatal monster, having the ability to kill with a single glance from its eyes. Spiders flee before it. The basilisk is quite rare. The crow of the rooster, however, is fatal to it_. Not much more is known about the basilisk.' Tom closed the book, upset that he couldn't learn more, but sure that he knew what the monster was. _Now all I have to do is find the Chamber_. He completed his homework and walked out of the library. On his way out, he ran into Annabeth.

"Tom, are you alright? You're upset about something, I can tell. You can tell me, you know. I won't bug you about whatever is bothering you, but I'll just tell you that I'm willing to listen if you want to talk." Tom nodded.

"Thank you Annabeth, but I'm fine." Tom lied. He supposed he was feeling better at the prospect of opening the chamber and letting the monster loose on the muggleborns, but he knew that Annabeth wouldn't consider that 'fine'. _Annabeth is muggleborn_, he thought. _Would I hurt her? No, I suppose not. I know her too well to know that she's not like other muggleborns. If she gets in my way, though, I'm not sure what I'd do. I'd have to set the basilisk on her. I hope that she can understand this from an objective point of view, like me, instead of her emotional point of view. If she does, then I wouldn't have a reason to hurt her_. Tom walked away, his thoughts in turmoil.

Over the next couple of months, Tom looked for the Chamber. Since he was prefect, he had an excuse to walk the corridors at night, and he used that to his advantage. While Annabeth was unfortunately the Gryffindor prefect, which meant that she could guess that he was up to something, he'd simply say that he thought he'd heard something. He was a good liar, he knew, and was sure that he'd have no problem. Indeed, he searched through each classroom, each corridor. He even looked through the Great Hall and the kitchens, once he'd figured out that he had to tickle the pear. The technique he used was, in his opinion, simpler than trying to find a random entrance that was probably disguised. He closed his eyes, imagined a snake, and said 'open' in Parseltongue, as he was sure that it was the way to open the chamber. However, it never yielded any results. Many house-elves swarmed Tom, asking him if he wanted to eat, but Tom politely declined. He got out of the kitchen, but ran right into Irina.

"What are you doing out so late?" Tom hissed quietly.

"I'm the other Slytherin prefect. Or did you forget?" Irina replied, cocking an eyebrow at him.

"Yes, but what are you doing here?" he asked back.

"I could ask you the same thing. I saw you heading to the kitchens, and I followed. I saw you tickle the pear, and I was about to do so when you walked out of the kitchen. Were you sneaking a late-night snack?" Irina asked dubiously.

"No, of course not. I thought I heard something strange, so I decided to investigate." Tom said smoothly.

"We both know that's not true. You know that there are house-elves in the kitchen, and I didn't hear anything strange. Seriously, what were you looking for? I've noticed you look for something each time it's our turn to patrol. I didn't think much of it at first, but when I saw you do it every time we were on patrol, I figured that I'd have to ask."

"Well..." Tom looked at the floor, feigning embarrassment. "If you must know, I was, well, looking for the Room of Requirements," he improvised, hearing about it from many Slytherins who claimed to have found it. "I'd heard about it, and I wanted to see if I could find it."

"You're lying," Irina said accusingly. "Why bother? You know that I can see right through your lies. Besides, I might be able to help you." Tom decided to tell her part of the truth, since she was a pureblood Slytherin who also believed that Muggles, muggleborns, and half-bloods don't belong in society.

"Well, I'm looking for a snake carved in somewhere," he finally decided to say.

"Why?" she asked.

"I won't tell you." Tom countered. Irina looked impassive, but Tom was sure that she was trying to figure it out.

"Alright." Irina said. They walked to the Slytherin dormitories wordlessly.

Christmas came, and Tom woke up to find three packages by his bed. He opened them up. Edward had given Tom a book on Quidditch. An attached card said: _Maybe you might like Quidditch better if you read about it in a book rather than watching it. Merry Christmas! -Edward_. Emma had given Tom a silver-and-green scarf and hat set. He opened Annabeth's present last. She had gotten him a silver necklace with a silver serpent pendant. _Here's to celebrate your utter Slytherin-ness. Hope you like it. Merry Christmas! Your good friend, Annabeth_. Emma and Edward had gone home for the holidays, but Annabeth was still here. He'd have to thank her. Tom decided that while he wouldn't usually dream of wearing jewelry, especially a necklace, he figured that he could wear this necklace because of its symolicness. He put it on. He saw Annabeth at breakfast that morning.

"Thank you Annabeth," Tom said. "I liked your present. I'm sorry that I only got you a mere book."

"But I loved your present! I mean, a joke book! How perfect," Annabeth replied. Tom decided to spend a little more time with Annabeth. After all, he'd looked everywhere he could imagine for the Chamber, but hadn't found it. _Maybe it is only a myth. No matter_. Soon, the holidays were over and everyone else was back. Classes started as usual. However, one morning, Irina came up to Tom on his way to Potions.

"Tom! I found something yesterday. In the girl's bathroom on the third-floor corridoor!" Irina whispered urgently, so softly that he barely caught what she said. Tom did hear what she said though, and was excited. _Could it be_?


	37. Chapter 36

**Oooh! Tom (well, Irina) has found the Chamber of Secrets!**

Annabeth paused in her tracks, hardly daring to believe what she had heard. It couldn't be. She must've heard incorrectly, because she thought she had heard Irina tell Tom that she found something in the girls' bathroom. _I must've heard wrong_, Annabeth thought. _After all, Irina was whispering so softly that I bet it was hard for even Tom to hear it. I just was listening because I care more about Tom's conversations than about the conversations of the other students simply because I know Tom better. And, okay, maybe I was curious as to what Irina could be whispering to Tom_. Another part of her brain was arguing with her though. _We're in our sixth year though_, it said, _and that's when Tom opened the Chamber of Secrets. Besides, it would make more sense for a girl to have found the Chamber. I am surprised that Tom told Irina about what he was trying to do. It makes sense that he didn't tell me, but I didn't think that Tom Riddle trusted anyone. Maybe he didn't tell her the whole story, only part of it. Yes, that seems like the kind of thing he'd do_. Annabeth walked to her class, her mind whirling with worry. She tried to go to the third-floor corridors whenever she had free time. She started doing her homework in that corridor, but she didn't catch anything. She was able to wave away Emma and Edward's concern for now by saying that she just wanted to study more, but she knew that it wouldn't work for long. She figured that she should tell them the truth soon anyways. Two days later, a muggleborn student was Petrified. Annabeth knew that she'd have to tell her friends soon. But each day there was a new attack, and with each passing attack, Annabeth became more terrified of telling her friends, worried about how they'd react to the news.

"Annabeth, is something wrong?" Emma asked her. "I know that you are probably upset about Edward's friend getting Petrified, especially since you knew him pretty well. After all, you, Dan, and Edward played lots of pranks together. But you've been upset for days. What's up?"

"Emma, get Edward. I have to tell you something." Emma nodded and went and got Edward. He was looking quite upset.

"What happened Annabeth? Do you know something?"

"I'll have to start at the beginning. You know how I ended up back in time and de-aged? How I ended up across the Atlantic Ocean? How, in the future, there is a book series about the Wizarding world? Well, in the second book, we find out at the end that the person who opened up the Chamber of Secrets in this time period was Voldemort as a teenager. And...and..." Annabeth was holding back a sob, nearly in tears. "I know who it is. I never told any of you, because I didn't think that you'd understand, and a part of me was overconfident that I could change time, but the person who opens the Chamber of Secrets and later becomes Voldemort is...is... Tom Riddle!" Annabeth brought her knees to her chest and hugged her legs, resting her chin on her knees. Emma and Edward exclaimed in shock.

"What?" they said. "Tom...Tom Riddle? How could it be? You must be mistaken."

"I am not mistaken!" Annabeth nearly yelled. "At the end of that book, Tom...well, a memory of him preserved in a diary essentially, had written his name in the air with a wand, and then he waved it so that the letters were rearranged. They spelled out 'I am Lord Voldemort'. That's an anagram of Tom's full name." Emma and Edward thought that over in their minds. Annabeth was right, they realized.

"But Tom is in favor of muggleborns and even Muggles," Emma protested, trying to convince herself that it wasn't true. She didn't think that Tom could do something like that, but more than that, she was thinking of poor Annabeth. _She must be devastated_, Emma realized sadly. Emma couldn't imagine what it would be like to love someone who she knew would end up a cold, ruthless murderer. _Not only that, but Annabeth is truly muggleborn, so it must be even worse_.

"If I hadn't gotten sent back in time like I had, then I think that he would've grown up hating Muggles, and therefor muggleborns by association. He knew that I was muggleborn, almost Muggle, and the fact that I was nice to him despite knowing about his magic back when I couldn't do magic was probably the only thing that stopped him from that. Since I was the only one, though, it became a moot point when Tom found out that his Muggle father had abandoned his witch mother. That's what I think changed his mind."

"How long have you known?" Edward asked timidly, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.

"Since before first year, when we were at the orphanage," Annabeth replied quietly.

"How did you stand to be around him?" Edward shouted. "Knowing that he'd turn out to be a murderer? How could you love him when, from your descriptions of Voldemort, you know that he was incapable of love?"

"Because when my future self had read the books, she was able to understand why Tom did what he did! The Muggles were horrid to him, and the fact that his father abandoned his mother the way he did, I can't blame Tom for hating Muggles! Plus, it's human nature to dislike something by association, so it makes sense in a somewhat twisted way that he'd hate muggleborns. I'm not saying that what he did was right, but I can see why." Then, Annabeth spoke in a faint whisper. "I know that, atleast initially, I had somewhat of an effect on him because when he discovered his magic, he didn't use his magic to mindlessly hurt the Muggles, he only used it to give those bullies the same injuries by magic as they had given us with their fists. Once they got a dose of their own medicine, they left us alone. For years, atleast he realized that it was nice to have a friend. He became my best friend. Even my future self believed that he should get a second chance. I don't know how or why I love him, I can't answer that. But don't worry. My love hasn't blinded me, and I won't help him. I'll try to do something. I believe that's the reason why I was sent here to this time so inexplicably. However, you must promise not to interfere. If I don't succeed, you must promise that you won't try to step in."

"Why not?" Emma and Edward both asked.

"Because you guys don't exactly understand him like I do. Besides, trust me. I won't let things get worse, no matter what. Imagine what would've happened if I hadn't gone back in time. There would've been no hope until the 1990s."

"But we won't just stand here and do nothing after all we know!" Edward said indignantly.

"Edward, Tom's powerful. There's no doubt about that. If you tried to get in his way, then he'd kill you. Same for you Emma. And you guys can't die, not you of all people. I'm sure that you two end up get married, and it's your grandson Harry who kills Voldemort. If you guys go off and get yourselves killed out of Gryffindor pride, then there may be no hope." Emma and Edward were stunned, looking knocked into silence. Then, they nodded, agreeing. "Edward, can I have your Invisibility Cloak? I'm going back to the third-floor corridoor." Edward went and got his cloak. She wore it, and headed off, tiptoeing when she finally got to the corridoor. She looked into the girls' bathroom. Annabeth heard loud sobs coming from inside. Then, she saw Tom coming towards the bathroom. This seems familiar, she thought. Ohmygod! Myrtle! She's going to die! Tom walked in, oblivious to Annabeth. He hissed at the faucet. She heard what sounded like a huge snake starting to slither out. Annabeth stuffed the cloak in her robes, and ran into the bathroom, eyes on the first cubicle.

"Myrtle! Don't look up! Look at the floor only. Please! Or else you'll die. Just do as I say!" Careful not to look at the basilisk, Annabeth then turned to face Tom, who had whirled around in shock.

**To anonymus reader Alice: No, it's not possible to bother someone with too many reviews, especially since yours have positive comments and constructive feedback! I look forward to them**.


	38. Chapter 37

Tom was surprised to see her there. He was sure that he didn't see her in the corridoor, and she couldn't have come here so fast without running, which he surely would've heard. _Maybe she used a disillusionment charm_, he thought, _mentally cursing himself for not remembering to check for that_. Tom realized that she must've suspected him ever since that dratted boy in their History of Magic class had asked the teacher what the Chamber of Secrets was. The teacher had told them, albeit reluctantly, about the myth and how only the Heir could open it. Tom sent a 'Stupefy' at Annabeth. She blocked it and sent a curse back at him. He dodged it and decided that he should first take care of Myrtle. Sending a silent 'Petrificus Totalus' at her, Myrtle dropped to the ground frozen, her eyes wide open.

"**Kill that girl**," Tom hissed at the basilisk in Parseltongue. The basilisk met eyes with Myrtle, and Tom knew that she was dead.

"No! NO!" Annabeth yelled. She pointed her wand at Myrtle, undoing the 'Petrificus Totalus', and ran to her side, her eyes on Tom the whole time. She felt Myrtle's hand, but Myrtle was still and cold. Tom sent a Confundus charm at Annabeth, which she blocked easily, and Annabeth sent a jet of purple light back at him. They kept dueling for a while because Tom wasn't able to defeat Annabeth. _She's good at dueling_, he thought in wonder. _She stood against me for so long_. Tom sent two quick spells at Annabeth, one right after the other. Annabeth dodged one of them, but the other, Expelliarmus, hit home. Annabeth's wand flew out of her hand and Tom caught it. Annabeth looked at Tom tiredly.

"You could've been a good Seeker, you know," she said with a small, tight smile. Tom sighed loudly and rolled his eyes. _Only Annabeth would say something like that to someone who was attacking her_.

"You killed me!" a voice yelled. "Why did you kill me?" Tom turned around, surprised to see Myrtle.

"Because you're a filthy muggleborn," Tom hissed in response. "Why are you still a ghost?"

"I haven't gotten back at Olive Hornby for teasing me about my glasses. Oh well, I suppose I could annoy her better as a ghost," Myrtle responded. Tom saw a solid hand try to grab one of the wands in his hands. Tom stretched out his hand, the one with both wands in it, out of Annabeth's reach. Because she was about a head shorter than him, and because he had long arms, she couldn't get the wand.

'**Should I kill the other girl?" **the basilisk asked.

"**No, not yet,**" Tom asked. He decided to consider his options. To his surprise, he saw that Annabeth hadn't even tried to run. _Maybe she's gotten stupider, and I haven't noticed. Oh well_. First, he waved his wand, and the bathroom had a door, which was locked.

"I wasn't going to try to leave, you know. The main reason I came here was to talk to you," Annabeth replied. _So she does know what she's doing. But what could she want to talk about? And why would she stay when she'd just seen him try to kill a muggleborn_? Tom didn't respond. "Why Tom? Why are you doing all of this?"

"It's my inherited duty. Besides, Muggles are filth, and therefore, so are muggleborns since they are descended from Muggles." _She might tell on me, but who would believe her? After all, I am Tom Riddle, the perfect orphaned child, smart, handsome, charming, and prefect. Dumbledore might though. He's seen the rude side of me at the orphanage, and he never seemed to take things at face value. But Annabeth wouldn't have proof. The fact that they thought that he was Slytherin's Heir was solely based on the fact that Slytherin had a descendant by the name of Marvolo, which happens to be the name of my grandfather. There could be other Marvolo's though. That's not enough proof. But this is the magical world, and she could use her memories as proof_. He decided to perform a test to see if he still had hope. He probed her mind, trying to perform Legilimency on Annabeth. She felt it, and blocked him. He withdrew, satisfied.

"You know Occlumency, and you're pretty good at it," Tom smirked. "Now, even if you try to use your memories as proof, then they won't believe you because a good Occlumens can plant fake memories." Annabeth, who seemed to have been thinking along those lines, groaned and put her head in her hands. She looked back up at him.

"So what are you going to do now Riddle? Kill me?" Annabeth asked coldly. While Tom didn't let his reaction show on the outside, he flinched internally at her use of his last name so coldly. They had known each other for so long that his last name sounded strange, even alien-like from her, especially in the tone she said it in.

"If I had planned on that, why would I have given you a lecture about not telling anyone?" Tom responded.

"Why did you do this though? Why did you kill Myrtle? Why are you against the muggleborns? And why are you not against me?" Annabeth asked, her voice laced with hints of a sob.

"Like I said, Muggles are filth. Did you see those Muggles at the orphanage? They were so petty, so undignified, and they acted like dirt. Don't interrupt Annabeth, I know that you were about to. I'm not against you because you treated me well even before you knew about magic, and even before you knew about magic you were more dignified than those Muggles. Had you been Muggle, you still would've been unique, and you're still a unique witch. Harming you would be a waste. Besides, you are a more objective person than most. If you think about this without emotion, you'll see that I'm right." Tom realized that Annabeth would be a great companion for his mission.

"But you didn't think this way before last year, when you found out about your father. Did that change your mind?" Annabeth asked.

"No, it simply made me see the truth about Muggles. I mean, he obviously abandoned my mother if she had to give birth in such a dingy orphanage. And if Muggles can abandon family after finding out the truth, then they're obviously scum."

"But muggleborns' parents haven't abandoned their kids after finding out that their children could do magic. That proves that not all Muggles are like that." Then, her voice took on a more understanding tone. "I'm sorry that your dad did what he did. I'm sorry that you got unlucky and had your dad do that. But the fact is that they're not all like that."

"They just see the usefulness of having a magician in the family," Tom spat.

"Tom, no. The biggest reason Muggles may not like magic is because they're scared of what people could do. Most Muggles won't blame wizards and witches for mishaps like a bad crop season because they have become more advanced in the sciences. Besides, muggleborns' parents still accept them despite knowing that it is possible for their children to use their magic against the parents. If they still accept them, it's purely based on love for their children." _Some of what Annabeth is saying is makinig some sort of sense_, Tom thought.

"But there are still a lot of Muggle scum who try to get rid of us because of our power. Look at my filthy Muggle father! He abandoned my witch mother! She was more powerful than him. How dare he abandon her. And why would my mother marry such dirt?"

"Tom, your mother loved your father. Your father didn't know of magic. He was rich and well-known in Muggle society, which was pretty much the epitome of power in the Muggle world. Your mother grew up with a father and a brother who hated and abused her. When she saw your father, she fell in love with him," Annabeth explained.

"How do you know all of this?" Tom asked with narrow eyes. Annabeth hung her head.

"It was in that book series," she said faintly. Tom didn't need to ask her which book series. _But why would I be in it? Why would they describe my parentage? I mean, I made an anagram of my name this year, which is 'I am Lord Voldemort', so I'm in the series as Lord Voldemort. That means that they must've been describing Lord Voldemort's past, meaning my past! And if they described my past as Lord Voldemort's past, then Annabeth probably knows, and has known for years_!

"How do you know that it was my mother and father?" Tom demanded. Annabeth looked at the floor and whispered inaudibly.

"They mentioned your father's name. Tom Riddle." Tom was taken over by a sudden, intense anger. He reached out and slapped Annabeth hard across the face.

"How dare you keep such information from me! How dare you not tell me about my own parents! I deserve to know more than you." She looked up at him acceptingly, not surprised at all.

"I was worried that that would set you on the path to becoming Lord Voldemort. I didn't want that to happen if I could help it."

"Well, your efforts were in vain," Tom said icily. "Do you know anything else?" Annabeth continued.

"Your uncle had attacked Tom Riddle, your father. A Ministry official came to investigate, and your grandfather and uncle were rather unpleasant to him. Your grandfather abused your mother in front of the official though, so the Ministry arrested your grandfather and uncle. Merope, your mother, was free. She loved your father, and while no one knows the details, your father soon ran off with your mother. It was a huge scandal in Little Hangleton." Annabeth paused, and Tom took this opportunity.

"So my father is a bigger piece of slime than I thought. He ran off with my mother and then he abandoned her!"

"Tom, your father had a girlfriend. Harry was looking at a memory of the Ministry official when he came to the Gaunt house, and during it, your father rode past the house with a woman he called 'Cecilia darling'. Your father didn't love your mother, and we can make a reasonable guess that Merope was able to do magic after her father and brother were in Azkaban. She could've used the Imperius curse, or used Amortenia, which would explain Tom's sudden decision to run off with your mother. He came back a couple of months later, saying that he was 'hoodwinked and taken in'. He must've realized what had happened, but didn't truly say it in fear of appearing crazy. Your mother was devastated, and either her unreturned love sapped her magic away, or she was so broked-hearted that she didn't have the will to stay alive."

"My mother was so weak as to let love swallow her. Pathetic," Tom sneered.

"Tom, she...she sold her heirloom, Slytherin's locket, for ten galleons. That shows how desperate she was for money. She must've thought that even that orphanage would've been able to provide for you better than she could've. In the end, she did what she thought was best for you, Tom." Annabeth said softly.

"How dare my father abandon my mother, who was the Heir of Salazar Slytherin? How dare he leave her, thinking that he with his money and stature was better than my mother, who had such a powerful ancestor? How dare he -" Annabeth cut him off, exasperated.

"That has nothing to do with love though Tom! Even if he did know the significance of your mother's ancestry, it wouldn't have changed anything. He wouldn't have loved her. You think that love is based on how powerful someone is, how rich they are, or their ancestry? You're wrong. It's preposterous. I didn't fall in love with you because you're Salazar Slytherin's heir!" Annabeth yelled. She realized what she had accidentaly blurted out in her outburst at about the same time as he did. "I... I meant..." But then she stopped trying to cover it up, and instead glared at him defiantly, as if saying 'Yes, I do love you, and I dare you to say something about it'. Tom thought back to the first time they had met. She had been so kind, so caring. Even when he had wanted to take revenge on the other kids at the orphanage, she understood him. Yet she wasn't cruel or evil. She didn't want to hurt other people if she could help it. He thought about the way she seemed to accept him. She didn't like him merely for his intelligence, for she had intelligence nearly good enough to rival his own. She liked him as much when they were younger as she did now, so it wasn't merely his good looks that attracted her. _Does all of this show her love for me? And how can she love me still after knowing what I am now, what I do? She doesn't love me, she merely thinks she does. _

_But she knew_, another part of him said. _She knew what you would be for four years, and yet she still was nice to you. She still helped you find your ancestry, and she didn't hate you for it despite knowing what it would lead to. She gave you a chance, a chance to be a different person, before she judged you_.

_I know_, he told himself. _I know now why she was angry at me for using Veritaserum on her. Things would've been quite different if I knew about my future, and I might've pursued the path of becoming a dark lord sooner. She still forgave me for using Veritaserum on her. And considering how kind and non-violent she is, she's still trying to be understanding, trying to see why I am doing what I'm doing_. For the first time in his life, Tom was genuinely and throughly confused.

**Hey guys! I'd really like reviews for this chapter. I've been having this intense turning point playing repeatedly in my brain, and I'm finally glad to have reached this point in the story. However, I want to know how I did with portraying Tom. Is he too OOC, especially at the end? I'd love the feedback. Almost at the climax!**

**Alice: The reason that I have Tom call the basilisk is because in the Chamber of Secrets, when Myrtle describes her death, she says that she heard a boy hissing, which means that he was probably outside the chamber. When she came out to tell him to go away, she saw a pair of big yellow eyes**, **which meant that the basilisk was already outside. So I tried to keep that part canon, even if it doesn't make sense.**


	39. Chapter 38

"Yes, you should probably leave," Tom said frostily. "After all, I'm sure that you won't tell anyone. You can't, really. But you're welcome to stay if you want." Tom fished out a diary. _This must be THE diary_, Annabeth thought. It was engraved with Tom's name on the front. Annabeth sat there, staring at the horrible sight in front of her, but she couldn't look away. She watched in horror as a piece of her best friend and beloved's soul was torn out of his body and entered the diary. The scene made her want to retch. It was agonizing for her to watch Tom destroy his soul, his essence, himself. When it was over, Tom looked over at Annabeth and smirked. He didn't look any different, but Annabeth knew that he was, more or less, damaged forever.

"Yes Annabeth, I think you might have an idea of what this is. I am now invincible," Tom said proudly.

"Tom, I don't completely understand your aversion to all Muggles and muggleborns, but more than that I don't understand your craze to achieve immortality. Why do you want to mutilate your soul, yourself?"

"Death is a weakness. What comes after death is also a mystery. Why should I let myself be defeated by death? I don't want to sucumb to something like death, which I can't prepare myself for."

"You don't need to. Death is a natural part of humanity which we can't and shouldn't fight. And I take it that this is why you're scared to love? Because it is unexpected?"

"Don't snivel. I don't want to love because love is probably the second biggest weakness, next to death, and it is completely useless. I've never seen or understood the good that could come from love. All those people in love, they all act like fools. Besides, I don't need love. I don't need to rely on anyone to gain a sliver of happiness. I can trust and rely on myself, and that's all I need."

"I act like a fool?" Annaebth asked incredulously.

"Well, you were begging and pleading just a while ago. I don't think you would've done that if you cared only about yourself," Tom replied. Annabeth was angry that Tom had thrown her confession of her love for him so carlessly aside. _Ultimately, all guys are like that. Even if they don't act like it at first, if they don't like a girl back they scorn at her_. Well, she'd show him.

"If people didn't care for anyone but themselves, I doubt the world would survive as it has. And besides, I did not beg and plead. I was asking you to reconsider your position, not for your sake. I couldn't care less if you went and died in a hole, but I don't want innocent people losing their lives," Annabet snarled back angrily.

"I'd be careful of what I said if I were you," Tom whispered dangerously. "After all, I still have your wand. Besides, I can't go 'die in a hole' as you so eloquently put it. I'm officially immortal now. Seriously, are all American phrases that stupid?" Annaebth glared at Tom.

"Can I leave now? And can I have my wand back now? I'm sure that you don't want an inquiry, courtesy of the school, as to how my wand is in your possession and why you refuse to return it to me."

"Sure," Tom answered lazily. He handed Annabeth her wand. "Besides, I defeated you in our little duel." If looks could kill, Tom would be dead by now, horcrux or no horcrux. Annabeth stomped out of the bathroom, but before she left, she heard Tom say, "You know, if you ever change your mind, I'd be happy to put you near the top of our death eater ranks. In fact, you'd be second only to me." Annabeth shook her head and left, hearing laughter coming out of the girl's bathroom. However, just as she thought, her anger at Tom for scorning at her disintegrated as soon as she left. After all, this was Tom Marvolo Riddle, the future Dark Lord, and considering that, he had treated her well on finding out about her love for him. He was offering her a top spot amongst his Death Eaters, and while she would never take him up on the offer, the gesture was nice coming from him, compared to other boys like Brandon who she, well her future self, had liked. _Nevertheless, I hope that I'm wrong about loving him. After all, the fact that I'm probably his best and closest friend doesn't mean that he loves me, or that he should. And if he doesn't love me, now or ever, then that means that I probably don't truly love him, and that means that I will get over him. I still hope he does though, of course I do, and if he does but is denying it, then nothing can take him out of denial and I'll be doomed to be heartbroken for the rest of my life_.

Over the next couple of months, Tom and Annabeth drifted apart. Annabeth wasn't surprised; it was to be expected, and she probably would've been surprised if things had managed to resemble some sense of normalcy between them, especially after they both knew that she knew everything. As she had known, the teachers told everybody that the school was being closed down, and Tom 'miraculously' caught the 'Heir of Slytherin'. Annabeth nearly cried when Hagrid was expelled, and her guilty conscience wouldn't let her sleep for days until she convinced herself that she truly wouldn't have been able to do anything helpful even if she wanted to. She guessed that Emma and Edward must be feeling the same way as well, but none of them had solid proof to convict Tom, and despite everything, a tiny part of her didn't want to. One night, Annabeth woke up from a nightmare. _It was just a dream_, Annabeth thought. _It's not really going to happen. My dreams aren't divinatory. But_, another part of her argued, _it could happen. Tom Riddle could certainly do that, you know. You should prepare yourself just in case_. Annabeth thought for a while until she had an idea. She wasn't sure if it would work, but she had to try. First, Annabeth looked for a clear, water-like potion in her Potions book that would satisfy her purpose. Luckily, she found it. Then, Annabeth approached Professor Slughorn during some of her limited free time.

"Professor? I would like to practice brewing this potion." Annabeth showed Professor Slughorn the potion. "I would like to try something new."

"Well, I suppose that there's no harm in giving a star student something challenging to practice. However, I must warn you to be extremely careful when making the potion and use proper protective materials when making it. The potion itself is dangerous, but it is even more dangerous if made incorrectly."

"I'll be careful sir," Annabeth said confidently. She proceeded to make the potion, carefully measuring the ingredients and mixing them. Finally, after many long hours, the potion was complete. When Professor Slughorn wasn't looking, Annabeth conjured a flask and put some potion in it. She sealed the flask and hid it in her robes. She cleaned up, politely thanked Professor Slughorn, and left. Now, she was ready in case her nightmare came true. She didn't, however, anticipate that it would come so soon, and that too on her birthday.

March 17 came along. She got presents from Emma, Edward, and a couple of other people, but she wished that Tom had given her something. If he would give up the path to becoming Lord Voldemort, there would've been no bigger gift for her. _There's no use for wishing for things that won't come true though_, Annabeth explained to herself. On her way to the Great Hall though, she ran into Tom.

"Today we're going to Hogsmeade. Meet me near the outer edge of Hogsmeade. I want to talk to you." With that, Tom walked off. Annabeth was stunned into silence. What could he want to talk about? Should I go? I mean, will it be safe for me? Annabeth considered for a long time, but finally decided to go. Maybe some good would come of it. She went to Emma and Edward and told them about this.

"Annie, no! It's dangerous! What could he possibly want to talk to you about?" Emma asked worriedly.

"I won't know until I find out," Annabeth replied.

"We should come with you," Edward said.

"No. I have to do this myself," Annabeth replied. "I have to go see Tom. I have to talk to him. And I have to do this alone. Don't worry about me," Annabeth replied with a small smile. As she walked to Hogsmeade though, she came face-to-face with Irina.

"You're going to talk to Tom, aren't you?" Irina asked lightly, but Annabeth caught a hint of a sneer laced into Irina's voice.

"Yes," Annabeth replied simply.

"You two seem to not be friends anymore. Did Tom finally realize that he was making a mistake by being in your company?" Irina questioned.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were jealous Irina," Annabeth commented.

"I have no reason to be jealous of you. I'll give you some friendly advice. Don't waste your time. You don't know Tom as well as you think. I truly know the real him, and I know that he will never bother with you after you've fulfilled his purpose. He'll never love you," Irina sneered.

"Irina, I know Tom much better than you think, so you shouldn't presume me to be utterly uninformed. I don't care if Tom doesn't love me. I think that you fancy him, don't you? But I happen to know that he's quite incapable of love, and I know what I'm doing. If you two did love each other, I'd be quite happy for you. Truly, I want my friend to be happy." As Annabeth said this, she realized that it was relatively true. If Tom and Irina truly loved each other, heck even if Tom and any other girl truly loved each other, she'd be happy that Tom was able to love, and she'd hope that he got a happy ending. Based on the original timeline though, either Tom never fell in love or his love had a tragic ending, so if Tom did get a happy ending with his love, whoever she (or he, Annabeth added as an afterthought) is, then Annabeth would know that she, as one of his best friends, would've had a hand in that. She'd be satisfied with that, and she'd probably be able to move on. "I'm merely going to discuss something, and I doubt that you'd be able to relate Irina." With that, Annabeth walked towards the edge of Hogsmeade. It was quiet, with a bit of greenery.

"Yes Tom? What did you want to talk about?" Annabeth asked.

"Happy birthday Annabeth. I wanted to give you something, but I assumed that something from me would've been unwelcome, especially after the events of the past couple of months." Annabeth sighed, hating how Tom would always twist around the issue. Normally, it was amusing and charming, but it wasn't so in the current situation.

"Cut to the chase and tell me what you want Tom," Annabeth snapped.

"Yes, that was always one of the things I liked about you. You know, I was just curious about that story of yours that you had read. I wanted to know more." Annabeth groaned. Of course, so this is it. I should leave. She, however, couldn't help but say some things that she'd wanted to say.

"Tom, why are you so adamant on being evil? Like I've said, I understand some of your anger, but I don't see what you hope to accomplish with this."

"And as _I've_ said, I hope to make sure that wizards and witches can live without fearing those filthy Muggles who are hardly as gifted as us. So what does happen in that story?" Tom inquired.

"Tom, I won't tell you anything. But I'll say this much; the path you decide to take will have its consequences."

"Well, then enlighten me. What are some of the mistakes I make? I'll be sure not to make those mistakes. Who knows, avoiding those mistakes will convince me to take the better path?" Annabeth knew that this was the hook. She paused. _If I did tell him, would it persuade Tom to let go of the idea of immortality? Would he realize that his path of destruction was wrong, because it would backfire? But no, his opinions will be the same. He'll just find another way, and I'll have no way of knowing if the new way will be better or worse. I can't take the risk_. While pondering, she felt something push at her mind. Immediately, she put up barriers around her mind. The force strengthened though, and Annabeth realized that she didn't have much time. _This is starting to play out like my nightmare. I'll try to distract him_.

"You know that this is evil though," Annabeth said. Wow, way to even try to distract him, she thought sarcastically.

"There's no good and evil. There's only power and those too weak to seek it," Tom replied. Annabeth rolled her eyes at what would become Tom's 'catch phrase'.

"That's a load of rubbish and you know it!" Annabeth yelled.

"No, actually I don't. Why don't you tell me? Why is killing people evil?" Tom asked innocently.

"Because nearly all of them have definetly not done anything that makes them deserve something like that," Annabeth retorted.

"So you admit that death is something that one would do well to avoid?" Tom asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Gah! You're so frustrating! No, that's not what I'm trying to imply. However, it is safe to assume that death is different from life, and that if people are born into this world, and especially if they haven't done anything to harm others irreversibly, then they deserve to live their life, to experience it. It's their choice how they decide to, but who are we to condemn someone for living his life like a fool?"

"So why do people always cry when someone dies?" Tom asked.

"Because the worst thing about death is being separated from those who you love! When one of my friends dies, then the sad part will be that I won't be able to be with them until I die. The only ones who have to fear death are those who do evil things!" Annabeth was all worked up about her point of view of life and death and good and evil. _Wow, it feels like I'm in debate club, except that people wouldn't debate such topics in it_. Annabeth supressed a snort at this random silly thought.

"Even if I did agree with what you are saying, you still haven't explained to me why my path is evil. What is evil? Who defines evil?" Tom asked in an annoying snobby tone. Annabeth then felt the pressure from her mind lift. She relaxed a bit, still having the barriers up a bit, ready to strenghten them if needed. Tom had got her there. After all, good and evil is ingrained into one's conscience, and is inexplicable in words. However, after thinking for several seconds, she had what was probably an atleast somewhat decent answer to a question that most people probably wouldn't be able to answer.

"What is a human's ultimate purpose on Earth? It's well...you know..." Annabeth trailed off and blushed. It had sounded so much better and less embarrassing in her head. "To...add more humans to Earth." Glad to get that part out, Annabeth continued, trying to ignore Tom's pleasure at her discomfort. "And being a killer goes against that, so therefore it's not right. And because we have a working system in place for wizards to survive peacefully, so you don't need to kill people to achieve that."

"I don't plan on killing people anymore," Tom said smoothly. "You've truly enlightened me." Annabeth scoffed. Tom was so obviously lying. If nothing else gave it away, it was the fact that his tone was all cool, smooth, and slippery, like the way it was around other people. If he was using this tone with her, it meant that he was lying. Annabeth decided not to push it though.

"Well, hurting people unreasonably is just as wrong. Pain is associated with doing something wrong. It's almost like a punishment to prohibit someone from making the mistake again, like when one injures himself. But people shouldn't have to suffer if they haven't done anything wrong, like hurt others. And if this is all you want to talk to me about, then I'm leaving." Annabeth turned to walk away, but Tom grabbed her right wrist roughly to stop her from leaving. Annabeth struggled and reached for her wand with her other hand, but Tom grabbed that wrist as well. He resumed the Legilimency, and this time the force against her mind's barriers was many times stronger than before. Annabeth knew that she wouldn't be able to hold out for much longer. _Just like in my nightmare_, Annabeth thought. _I really am going to have to do this to prevent him from reading my thoughts and finding out about the future. But before I can, I have to do something. It's something I won't get to do otherwise_. Annabeth then brought her hands up to Tom's face, pulled it roughly towards her, and kissed him full on the lips. Tom stiffened. Annabeth cringed, but didn't break the kiss. Finally, still holding her wrists, Tom responded. Delighted, Annabeth deepened the kiss. The force on the outside of her mind didn't go away, and Annabeth had to work harder to maintain concentration on her Occlumency, but the kiss was helping her mind not wander otherwise. The kiss wasn't gentle, and Annabeth was glad. She didn't think she would have liked gentle. She had dated Edward, but Tom was her first kiss. _Wow, I don't think even heaven is as blissful. Too bad I_... As she kissed him, a number of love songs played through her head, most of them Taylor Swift. The song 'Last Kiss' though kept repeating over and over in her mind. '_Never thought we'd have a last kiss, never imagined we'd end like this, your name forever the name on my lips'_. _I never thought that those words would ever be so accurate_, Annabeth thought mirthlessly. Annabeth broke away first. She thought she saw disappointment flick through Tom's eyes, but it was gone a second later, and Annabeth thought that she must've imagined it.

"Tom, I love you. Know this, no matter what. I know that you think love is weak, but it isn't. Love helps you find happiness in the smallest things. Love makes you feel lighter, more carefree. But most importantly, love makes you feel complete. I'm glad that I've had the opportunity to fall in love, and despite your life's decisions, I'm glad that I fell in love with you." It's time, Annabeth thought to herself. She stepped away, took out the potion from inside her robes, and quickly drank it before Tom could do anything. She felt her consciousness blacken and fade away. She felt her blood turn cold and slow down. And the last thing she saw as she fell was Tom reaching out to catch her before her consciousness completely faded away. The last thing she felt was Tom's touch before she died.

**Hey guys! I'm going to Orlando tomorrow for a week, so I won't be able to update before August 17 atleast, maybe later. Note that I will update the story at some point, so it's not completely over yet. What will happen now? Well, we'll see... Please review or else I'll end the story right here. **


	40. Chapter 39

Tom was shocked. As Annabeth fell, he automatically reached out to catch her_. Why did she have this potion with her? It's probably Draught of the Living Death. What did she hope to accomplish with that? After all, even with Draught of the Living Death, I can still enter her mind and read it. It's the way to tell the difference between that and poision, because the consciousness can still be sensed with Legilimency. Legilimens_, he thought while pointing his wand at Annabeth. He prepared himself to delve into her mind, but only came upon emptiness. Annabeth's mind was blank. Tom was then filled with a cold dread. _Annabeth really killed herself? How? Why? Why did she have poision with her? It's as if she foresaw this. Why would she kill herself? Was it really because I almost broke into her mind? Now I'll never know about the mistakes I make in the future_. _But would she really give up her life just so that I won't find out those details? No, that can't be why. _As well as Tom knew Annabeth, he knew that she did value herself, and even if she did care about others and she did do things for others, he thought that she would value her life above anything else. _But_, another part of him said, _that's not completely true. Remember when she worked for hours and snuck out of the orphanage in the cold to get you all of those encyclopedias just because you told her you wanted them? She had gotten sore throats and colds, but she still got them for you. She gave up chocolate for a month to get you that Christmas present. She was so young then, so it was quite a big sacrifice. She may not let others' negative opinions affect her anymore, and in that way she puts herself first, but in every other aspect she puts others before herself_. Tom was surprised that she'd give up her life and walk into Death's arms so calmly. Who knew what Death was like? There wasn't necessarily a heaven, or even hell. She wouldn't necessarily reincarnate into something or someone else. It was unknown, and Tom fully intended to fight that unknown. He didn't want to accept something that he didn't know about. _How could she do that for people who wouldn't know her or of her sacrifice_? Tom got up, unsure of what to do now. He couldn't bring her back; it would look extremely suspicious, and Tom was sure that Emma and Edward would suspect him. Tom was sure that Annabeth told them everything. She was never good at keeping secrets to herself. On the other hand, he couldn't just leave her there. It wouldn't be right. Other thoughts were running through his head. _What if others saw me talking to her, and then they saw me walking back and Annabeth dead_? He was interrupted by someone clearing their throat behind him. He spun around quickly.

"What brings you here Irina?" Tom asked in a pleasant tone, but he was a bit nervous. She had seen him with a dead Annabeth. _Oh well_, he thought. _I can just 'obliviate' her_ _if I have to. _

"I heard you two yelling at each other, so I decided to see what happened," Irina replied. "I saw all of it, so I know that you didn't poision her or make her unconscious or anything. But what are you going to do?" Tom wondered if he should just 'obliviate' her. It would certainly be easier. However, he supposed that he did place some level of trust in his followers by trusting them not to tell teachers about his plans, even if it was out of fear. Tom decided that he wouldn't erase Irina's memories of the event just yet. "You should just leave her here. Neither of us can bring her back without looking suspicious as to what we were doing out here so far away from Hogsmeade. Besides, I don't think anyone noticed," Irina said carelessly. Tom considered it. This was Annabeth who had just died. Annabeth, who'd been his friend for about ten years. She would probably have given Tom a proper burial, and he thought that Annabeth deserved that at least. However, he saw everyone start to leave for the carriages to take them back to Hogwarts. Tom waved his wand at the leaves on the trees, and many of them fell off. He waved his wand, and the leaves settled on Annabeth, covering her. Well, that's as decent of a burial as I can give her right now, Tom thought.

"Come on," he said to Irina. Together, they walked. Tom delved into the minds of those closest to them, who would've had the highest chance of seeing him with Annabeth. He found that a couple of kids had seen them talking, He wordlessly erased their memories, controlling the spell so that only the memory of him talking to Annabeth was removed. Tom saw Irina looking at him, impressed. He thought that he saw a glint of something else in her expression. 'Looks like even Miss Ice Princess is another one of your admirers', he could just imagine Annabeth say. Tom shook his head. She couldn't say that anymore. He was still in disbelief that Annabeth had truly killed herself. He ran into Emma and Edward while he and Irina were getting off at Hogwarts.

"Where's Annabeth?" they demanded.

"How should I know?" Tom asked coolly.

"She was with you!" they exclaimed.

"She talked to me for a little bit, and then she left. Where she went afterward I do not know." Tom replied.

"We know about you, and what you really are. Tell us what you have done to her." So she had told them everything, Tom thought.

"I do not know what you are talking about." Tom pointed his wand at them. "You are not going to attack me, I presume?" He asked to make it look like he was merely defending himself. However, he wordlessly performed Legilimency on them, and then erased their memories of everything that Annabeth had told them, including the fact that she would talk to Tom today. Tom then lowered his wand. Emma and Edward then looked at Tom and each other blankly.

"You know, I haven't seen Annabeth all day," Emma said. "Have you?" she asked Edward and Tom.

"No, neither have I," Edward said. "Tom? Have you seen Annabeth?"

"No, I'm sorry, but I haven't," Tom lied smoothly.

"I hope that she hasn't missed her carriage to Hogwarts," Edward replied. "We should tell a teacher." Emma nodded in agreement, and they headed off. Tom wondered if he should stop them, but thought better of it. After all, the teachers would eventually figure out that Annabeth was missing, and it would look strange if her best friends didn't notice. Tom decided to accompany them. After all, he knew Occlumency quite well, well enough to block selective parts of his memory. He hadn't tested his occlumency against another legilimens, but he was confident that he'd succeed. They went to find the nearest teacher, who happened to be their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

"Professor! Annabeth wasn't on the carriages back to Hogwarts! I think that she got left behind," Emma and Edward replied.

"We must go look for her," the teacher replied. "For now though, you three go back. We'll take care of it." Emma and Edward walked off to their dormitories, while Tom went to the library. He knew that they'd soon find Annabeth dead. That night at dinner, Headmaster Dippet stood up. _Here it comes_, Tom thought.

"I have some bad news for you," he started. "A student, Miss Annabeth Sharma, is missing. She went to Hogsmeade, and hasn't been seen since. We have combed all of Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, and surrounding areas, but we haven't found any traces of her. In these times, it is even more imperative to be careful. There will be no more trips to Hogsmeade." The kids were in a state of panic and worry. _What? How come they didn't find her? Her body? How is she missing? Maybe someone found her and buried her_.

Over the next couple of days, the school stayed in that state of panic. Everywhere he went, he heard the kids talk about Annabeth's mysterious disappearance and the cancelled trips to Hogsmeade. To Tom's surprise, the kids seemed more upset about the cancelled trips to Hogsmeade than they were about Annabeth's disappearance. The kids were worried about themselves becoming missing, but a lot of kids didn't seem to care about Annabeth. _It's just like people to be selfish_, Tom thought. He supposed that if it was someone else, he wouldn't care too much either, but he was just like that with most people. Tom still participated in class the way he normally did, and still spoke with his followers, but he felt that things seemed quieter. He kind of liked the silence at first, because it gave him time to think, but after a couple of days he felt like he was missing something. It struck him then that he missed Annabeth's constant chatter. She would've asked him what he spent most of his time thinking about, even though they had drifted apart over the past couple of months. She would always compete with him in most of their classes, but now he missed the friendly rivalry. Tom had wondered before how good it would feel to dominate all of his classes, but now that he did, it didn't hold the pleasure that he thought it would. He remembered their last encounter. Tom recalled their kiss, and admitted to himself that he had enjoyed it. He realized that he actually missed Annabeth. He didn't really want to admit it since he wanted to believe that he didn't need anyone, and that their presence (or lack of) wouldn't affect him. However, he eventually had to admit it to himself; he missed Annabeth. Astronomy reminded him of her since it was her favorite subject, Defense Against the Dark Arts reminded him of her because of the several times they had dueled in class and their one duel in the Chamber of Secrets, and even the color green reminded him of her because Annabeth believed that green, the color of St. Patricks Day which was her birthday, was her lucky color. Tom looked at the irony of the fact that her birthday was her deathday, that her seventeenth birthday and coming of age was met with Death.

To his relief, school soon ended. Tom had made up his mind that he would kill his Muggle father, the unworthy Muggle who had abandoned his mother. He didn't care that his father never truly loved his mother. All he knew was that his mother was the heir of Slytherin, and she had deserved better. No matter what Annabeth had said, he was going to do it. After reaching the orphanage, he left right away for Little Hangleton. However, he didn't go straight to his father's mansion. He noticed a tangle of trees, and saw a glimpse of what looked like an extremely run-down house. Tom realized that it must've been where his mother's family lived. He decided to pay it a visit. He went in and saw an untidy man with long hair.

"YOU!" The man yelled, and lunged for Tom.

"**Stop," **Tom said.

"**You...you speak it?"** the man asked.

"**Yes, I speak it," **Tom replied.

"You look mighty like that Muggle."

"What Muggle?" Tom asked sharply.

"That Muggle who lives in the big house over the way. You look mighty like him. But he'd be older than you now, wouldn't he? He came back, you see. Came back after abandoning my sister. Serves her right, marrying filth!" As Tom's uncle went into a rant, insulting Tom's mother, Tom felt disgusted. Is this what the noble Slytherin line had come to? This man definitely deserved what Tom was about to do. Tom pointed his wand at his uncle, stunned him, and wiped out his memories. He then stowed his wand in his robes, and took his uncle's wand. He noticed a ring on his uncle's finger. The ring looked old, yet powerful. Tom decided to take it. He turned it over in his hand idly, inspecting it. He thought about what he was about to do, and remembered the way Annabeth had disapproved. He remembered the way she had tried to talk him out of killing his father. Tom suddenly remembered his days at the orphanage before he went to Hogwarts, how Annabeth was fine with only hurting the bullies to make them feel his and her pain. He figured that if he simply did something like that to his father, she would be fine with it. Tom found himself missing Annabeth again. He tried to shake his thoughts away, but abruptly came face to face with someone who he never thought he'd see again. Annabeth looked at him, her eyes disapproving but her mouth tilted upward into a small smile. She wasn't solid, but she wasn't completely transparent like a ghost either. She seemed to be made out of smoke. Annabeth raised her hand and inspected her fingernails.

"What are you doing here?" Tom asked, not able to disguise the surprise in his voice. _How is she here_?

"Hello Tom. Were you missing me?" the ghost-like form of Annabeth asked. Her voice was thinner and not as rich, but he could still notice the playfullness in her voice. _Only Annabeth could sound like that, even in death_, Tom thought.

"I wasn't missing you. Don't be ridiculous. And you haven't answered my question," Tom said, lying and smoothly avoiding the fact that he had in fact been thinking about her. To his surprise though, Annabeth was laughing hard.

"Oh Tom, you're always trying to lie and deny anything that could be a 'possible weakness'," Annabeth said mockingly. "But you must've been thinking of me, or else the Resurrection Stone wouldn't have brought me back to life." Tom just gaped at her, so surprised that he forgot how to mask his face for a second. He closed his mouth a couple of seconds later though, and continued.

"The Resurrection Stone?" Tom asked.

"Since when did you get into the habit of repeating everything the other says Tom? You didn't have this habit when I was alive. Yes, the ring that you're holding is the Resurrection Stone, and it can bring dead people 'back to life'. It's one of the Deathly Hallows." Now Tom's mind was swimming with questions.

"What are the Deathly Hallows? And why did you put 'back to life' in quotes?" Is it because you're in your ghost-like form?" he asked.

"The Deathly Hallows, in short, are three objects owned by the Peverell brothers. Legend says that Death himself gave the objects to them when they used magic to cross a river, and that if one owns all three then they become the 'Master of Death'. While I doubt that, they are pretty powerful and cool objects."

"What are the other two objects?" Tom asked Annabeth eagerly. Could this be a possible solution to immortality?

"The Elder Wand, which is passed from owner to owner when the previous owner is defeated, and the Invisibility Cloak, which is unaffected by most charms and never wears off. You must be descended from the second Peverell brother, which is why this ring is in your family. Either that, or one of your ancestors stole it, though I highly doubt that." Tom had other questions, but Annabeth interjected. "You're going to kill your father after all then, aren't you," Annabeth said, not so much as a question as a statement. "You know, while I don't think I can say anything to change your mind, I will say that you could try to simply inflict the same pain upon your father as he did upon you. You know, like putting your grandfather under the Imperius curse and persuading your grandfather to leave your grandmother. Then maybe your father will understand better. Killing your remaining family, after all, won't do anything to help them understand the extent of what they did to you. In their death, they'll simply believe that they were killed unfairly, and it won't hurt them in the long run. You, however, will damage your soul from the murder. If my plan doesn't work, then you could go ahead and kill them, I suppose." Tom smirked at how well he knew Annabeth and predicted her response. The plan did seem somewhat good, but Tom masked his face.

"I don't take orders from anyone, especially not a ghost." Annabeth smiled at him.

"You know, I miss your stubbornness," Annabeth said sadly. "It was one of the things I adored about you. Heaven is pleasant, don't get me wrong, but it seems too perfect. Maybe I'm just used to arguing with you. I don't know. But what I do know is that I miss you like crazy. I can admit it now because I'm dead, so you can't really exploit my 'weakness' of loving you. I won't give you sappy lines, but I truly do love you and enjoy your company, and I miss you. And I'll say this: death is really pleasant. I was right in saying that the only bad part about death is that you're separated from the ones you care about. I miss Emma and Edward, but I miss you most of all. Not to the point of wishing that you guys were with me right now, because life is a different experience from death and most everyone deserves it, but to the point that I wish that you weren't so set on avoiding Death. Once it's someone's time for Death, they should embrace it, not run from it, because there's nothing to fear from Death. You can trust me; I've been there, done that." Tom laughed at how nonchalantly Annabeth spoke of her death. He soon sobered up though. Tom was curious about one thing.

"Can't you stay like this? I mean, the Resurrection Stone has brought you back to life atleast somewhat, if not completely."

"This 'somewhat' is what marks the fact that I, well all of the dead really, belong with the dead. Once we die, the living world isn't right for us. It becomes agonizing to stay here, and we yearn to go back to the dead, to heaven. It's really complicated for me because, well, while I feel extremely uncomfortable here physically, mentally and emotionally I want nothing more than to stay with you and to be able to talk to Emma and Edward one last time. I wish that I could explain everything to them, because I think it was unfair that you obliviated them." Tom opened his mouth to speak, but Annabeth interrupted him. "I know, I know, you had to, blah blah blah, but still. I can't help but wish." Tom noticed that when Annabeth was telling Tom about her feelings for him, her cheeks turned a darker shade of gray. That's probably her blush. Tom realized that he should go, but he couldn't help but tease his childhood friend one last time.

"By the way, you really seemed to enjoy our little kiss," Tom joked. He saw Annabeth's 'blush' become more pronounced.

"Hey! I wasn't the only one. I know you well enough to know that the fact that you responded means that you enjoyed it too, so you can't make fun of me." Annabeth looked at the floor. Tom looked at the door. Annabeth noticed this, and she understood at the same time as he did.

"Yes Annabeth, I'm going to have a nice little chat with my father." A question struck him, and Tom mentally cursed himiself for not having thought of it earlier.

"Why did you have poision with you? Did you foreshadow the event or something? And why would you kill yourself in the first place? Why would you be so suicidal?"

"I had a dream where I saw the events happening. In the dream, I saw you use Legilimency on me, I saw myself unable to stop it, and I saw myself kill myself. However, in the dream, I used the Killing Curse, and I knew that I couldn't use that because Unforgivables can be detected on and around Hogwarts and Hogsmeade grounds, so I decided to find another way. What I didn't forsee was the...the...kiss," Annabeth said, whispering softly at the end. Tom nodded. He pocketed the ring, and Annabeth disappeared.

"Goodbye Tom," she whispered before disappearing. Tom stood there, staring at the door. He felt numb and empty, as if the conversastion had drained him of feeling. The feeling of missing Annabeth came back unbidden, and the more Tom tried to push it away, the more it kept building up. It was as if Annabeth's death had just hit him in the head with a hammer. Sure, he now had a way to talk to Annabeth, but it wouldn't be the same. She couldn't talk about her life because she wasn't living it. Tom could hardly see how much Annabeth could talk about her death before they'd run out of things to talk about. They could never share the same classes, the same experiences. She could never punch him in the arm or push him in annoyance like she always used to. She could never touch him, never kiss him. She could never run her hand through his hair. But most of all, every time he'd use the Resurrection Stone, she'd be pulled away from death, and she wouldn't want to be there physically. He'd put her through discomfort by using the Stone. For the first time ever, Tom's heart was filled with sadness, and he realized the presence of his tear ducts, which were filling with tears. However, Tom blinked the tears away. He wouldn't ever let himself cry. Tom walked out the door of his mother's house and headed to his father's house. He rung the doorbell. A woman dressed in a maid's uniform opened the door.

"Wh - who are you?" she asked nervously, shocked at the resemblance of the man at the door to the youngest Riddle inside. Tom pushed his way past the maid without a thought and went into the dining room, where the Riddles were eating dinner.

"Hello father," Tom hissed. Tom Riddle Sr. turned around sharply, but stopped short at the sight of the man in front of him. For the man in front of Tom Riddle Sr. looked just like him, except younger.

"Who the hell are you?" Tom Riddle Sr. asked angrily.

"Don't you recognize me?" Tom mocked. "I'm your son." At the look of shock on his father's face, Tom laughed. "Yes, you do have a son whether you believe it or not. You married Merope Gaunt, my mother, and you had a son with her. Then, when she decided to be honest with you about her magnicifent powers, you abandoned her, giving neither her nor her son another thought. You filthy Muggle! How dare you think that you had the right to do that simply because you have money?"

"I never wanted to marry her! She forced me with her little hocus-pocus." Tom Riddle Sr. said indignantly.

"Nevertheless, you should have given her more of a thought than what you did," Tom replied. Looks _like Annabeth was right about that part_, Tom thought. _Maybe my mother did use Amortenia or the Imperius curse. Then, when he came to, he abandoned her and me_. Tom was too angry with his father for the complete abandonment to feel any real pity for the man.

"Because of you, I had to grow up in a filthy orphanage half-starved and deprived of a life I should have gotten. I won't let you go without making you suffer. Tom pointed his wand at his grandfather, who, along with his grandmother had been shocked and speechless this whole time. Before the older man could speak, Tom flicked his wand. _Imperio_, he thought. Tom's grandfather had a blank look on his face. 'You will leave your wife and son. You think that they are filth and deserve to have you leave him.' Tom's grandfather nodded slightly.

"Out!" he yelled to his wife and son.

"What have you done to my husband?" Tom's grandmother wailed. Tom, losing his patience, turned his wand on her. Obliviate, he thought, and quickly went to another corner.

"Why are you throwing me and my son out?" the woman asked. "What did we do?" Tom Riddle Sr. turned on his son.

"What have you done? I'll kill you for this!" he exclaimed.

"Haven't you figured out that I'm more powerful than you?" Tom sneered. "Now you'll deal with what you brought upon me. And who will you tell? The Muggle police? They won't be able to do anything, and no Muggle will believe you. Besides, you'd need witnesses." Tom went to all of the servants in the house and modified their memories.

"None of them remember anything." Tom turned and Disapparated. The last thing he saw was his grandfather throwing his grandmother and father out of the house, a mortified expression on his father's face. Tom reached the Gaunt house, satisfied. He had to admit, since his plan worked, he felt more satisfaction than he would have gotten from killing them. He thoughts turned to Annabeth. She'd be satisfied. She wouldn't think this evil like most people would. She's more logical, and I liked that. Tom wished that Annabeth was alive now. Tom gave his wand back to his uncle after modifying his memory, and left. He wandered around, refusing to go back to the orphanage now that he was of age, but not being able to find work since he hadn't yet graduated school. With not much to do, Tom kept missing Annabeth more and more. I don't think I love Annabeth. After all, I've seen people in love, and they all act like addled fools. I don't feel like an addled fool, so I can't love Annabeth. But I miss her a lot, and I want her back. Dammit, I'm Tom Riddle, the brightest wizard in the school. I will come up with something, and if I want Annabeth to be alive again then I will bring her back alive. With that, Tom set to work brainstorming a plan. He knew that time-travel would be involved, and he knew that terrible things happened to wizards who meddled with time, so he'd have to make sure that a paradox didn't occur. It took him about two weeks to come up with a plan that worked, and once he came up with a seemingly fool-proof plan, he set to work gathering potion ingredients and inventing spells. After another couple of months, Tom was ready to implement his plan.

**Sorry guys that I haven't had much action in this chapter, but there will be more in the next chapter. The story is about to end! Just a couple more chapters. Orlando was great (loved Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride in Universal Studios and tried Butterbeer; tastes great). So now I can update more often now that I'm back. I missed writing fanfiction. R&R please!**


	41. Chapter 40

For about a month, Tom had worked nonstop to invent a spell that would take him back in time. Since most spells were derived from Latin, Tom experimented putting Latin roots together which would mean 'reverse time' or something similar. One of the days that Tom was doing that, he heard a disturbance from behind him. He spun around quickly, but saw nothing. He strained his ears though, and thought that he heard a soft noise.

"Homenum Revelio," he said, but nothing happened. Tom was still on edge, but went back to his work. About an hour later, he found something. He said 'Retro Tempora', and thought of the previous hour, suddenly he felt the air around him condense and spin around him. He felt as if he were being sucked into a tube. Then, the air whooshed again, and Tom stumbled as if he were being spit out of a fireplace while traveling by Floo. He was face-to-face with the back of his past self. Quickly, Tom cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself nonverbally, but his past self noticed the disturbance and turned around. Tom tiptoed backward quickly out the door, remembering the disturbance that he'd noticed an hour ago, and knowing what would come next.

"Homenum Revelio," his past self said, but by then, Tom had cast a silent 'Silencio' around himself and Disapparated to the first good place he could think of, which happened to be the outer edge of Hogsmeade. It was basically a clearing. Tom remembered March 17th, Annabeth's birthday and deathday, with a pang. Tom wasn't able to clearly define why he was so intent on having Annabeth back. He did know, however, that he disliked having intelligent company around. He didn't need company; he didn't rely on anything or anyone. Surely, he could succeed and be happy without Annabeth. But there were still times during the past months when he had the urge to talk to Annabeth. The fact that she wouldn't be there to be able to talk to him made him feel... let's just say unhappy, especially because his childhood friend was always eager to talk to him. He found himself thinking about her more, but he knew that it was only because he was too used to her presence. _Maybe I should distance myself from her when she's alive again_, Tom thought. _I shouldn't be too used to her, but atleast she should be there if I want her to be_. Nevertheless, Tom was unnerved by the fact that his thoughts dwelled on Annabeth more and more as time went on. He wasn't sure what was happening to his head. Surely someone wasn't messing with it, so then why was he reacting like this? _Oh well, bringing Annabeth back to life won't be a waste_. He could always find a less violent way to carry out his plans...for now... and besides, maybe Annabeth would willingly help Tom with his plans if it seemed as if he was doing everything for the Muggles' benefit as well. Then, once he realized his weaknesses, he'd avoid them. Tom's opinions on Muggles and muggleborns hadn't really changed from what he had seen of his pathetic paternal family, but Annabeth could be a useful muggleborn since she was from the future and she'd be more willing to help him than other muggleborns.

Next, Tom worked on a form of a Switching Spell. This spell would switch things inside two different containers without the containers opening. He wanted it to work specifically on liquids, so he used the same spell-creating method that he used before. This took a bit longer, but he finally came across 'Trucido Liquoribus', which switched the water in one container with the juice in another. Quite pleased with himself, Tom set about his last task, which was to brew the potion Draught of the Living Death. Luckily, Tom thought, it won't take more than thirty-five minutes. I'd finished my potion in class in that time, and it was perfect. However, Tom didn't have money, and he didn't want to steal unless he had no other option. Not willing to be dejected right away, he decided to go to one of his followers' homes. Tom went to the home of Abraxas Malfoy. When he got there, he encountered wards, as he had expected. However, he tried to Apparate in anyways, knowing that the wards would alert the Malfoys to his presence. As he had expected, a man with long sleek blond hair and piercing gray eyes opened the door.

"Who are you, and why are you trying to barge into my manor? You do know whose home you are trying to enter, don't you?" The man asked angrily. Tom looked the man in the eye back, but otherwise arranged his face into a pleasant expression.

"I am extremely sorry sir. I am Tom Riddle, and I wanted to see Abraxas. However, my owl got lost, so I wasn't able to owl him to tell him that I was coming. I figured that I couldn't just knock on the door, and I knew that a big house like yours must have protection and wards around it, so I decided to try to Apparate to trigger the wards and let you know of my appearance. I knew that I wouldn't succeed in Apparating inside, so I wasn't trying to be rude." Tom saw the elder Malfoy look at him with disgust, and Tom mentally sneered at the Malfoy. If he knew who Tom would become, he wouldn't dare look at him like that. The man, though, let him in.

"Abraxas has told me about you. Impressive ancestry, and you're a pureblood. It's a pity that you had to grow up the way you did," the elder Malfoy said with a tone of disdain laced into his voice. Tom was angry at the tone, but kept up his polite appearance.

"Yes, I know. However, I plan to do great things and make a name for myself in the Wizarding World," Tom said. _Little does the Malfoy know how literal and true the statement will be_, he thought. Tom saw Abraxas in the dining room eating. As soon as Abraxas saw Tom, he stood up.

"Tom," he said. Tom supposed that Abraxas was trying to be casual in front of his father. After all, his father would probably ask his son why he was paying so much respect to a poor orphan, no matter what his ancestry. If Abraxas told his father about how dangerous Tom could be, who knew how his father would react? Tom supposed that he would stand the use of his birth name for now.

"Abraxas," Tom replied. To Tom's relief, Abraxas' father left the boys, so now Tom could talk.

"Abraxas, I need to brew a potion. It's part of a plan I'm carrying out."

"Of course my Lord. What will you need?" Tom smirked inwardly at the respect that a member of such a rich, pureblood family was giving him. He told him the list of ingredients that he'd need for a Draught of the Living Death. Abraxas took him down to what looked like a dungeon. There was a cauldron there. The blond boy got Tom all of the ingredients he needed, and Tom started brewing the potion, satisfied. However, while Tom was in the middle of the potion, Abraxas' mother burst in.

"What are you two doing here?" she asked coolly. Before Tom could say anything, Abraxas interjected.

"Mother, I was telling Tom about how we special-order our potion ingredients from the best store in England, and Tom was curious to see if the ingredients actually made any difference. He was so sure that they didn't, so I decided to let Tom brew a potion for himself so that he can see the difference." Tom resisted from rolling his eyes at Abraxas. Could he really not come up with anything better? Mrs. Malfoy regarded them coolly, so Tom decided to add on.

"Yes Mrs. Malfoy. I was curious to see how much these ingredients are of a different quality. I'm quite sure they do make a difference, but I want to see for myself just how much, just why the _Malfoys _trust this brand so much," Tom said, fake admiration oozing in his voice, while he moved to stir his potion. Mrs. Malfoy looked dubious, but at the same time she looked a bit satisfied with the explanation with the compliment subtly inserted in there.

"Alright," she said, albeit reluctantly, and left. Tom completed the rest of the potion with Abraxas watching silently beside him. Eventually, Tom was done. The potion was clear, the color of water. Tom poured it into a flask, and then he set upon making the antidote. The antidote used more ingredients and took more time than the Draught of the Living Death did. A house-elf even came in between to offer them refreshments, but Tom declined all except water. Finally, after a lot of careful and precise potion-brewing, the antidote was ready. The antidote was a deep, rich blue. Tom put it in another flask, and then he bid Abraxas goodbye. Abraxas led Tom to the door, and Tom left. He apparated back to the clearing outside of Hogsmeade, and then held out his wand.

"Retro Tempora," he said, and thought of March 17th. The air around his condensed and swirled around him again, and then the air whooshed back to normal. The sun was just rising, but otherwise Tom wasn't sure if he had actually went back in time. However, he knew that he didn't have much time. He cast a Disillusionment charm on himself, cast a 'Muffliato' around himself, and walked quietly through Hogsmeade. He sat down and waited for himself and Annabeth to come walking through. About two hours later, he saw himself come out of one of the carriages and walk to the clearing outside of the village, so Tom knew that Annabeth must be coming soon, and Tom was right. About fifteen minutes later, he saw Annabeth come down from one of the carriages. Tom didn't expect the unexpected smile that graced his face at the sight of her, albeit a small one. He made his face blank again, but he was happy to see Annabeth again, to see her olive skin, straight raven-black hair, and dark yet sparkling eyes. He was glad to see her in the flesh again, and upset that she would soon die. _Not if I can help it_, Tom thought fiercely. He quietly followed her, the Muffliato stifling the sound of his footsteps.

Almost immediately, Annabeth ran into Irina, and Tom witnessed their confrontation. When he heard what Irina said to Annabeth, he supressed a snort. _Looks like Irina is almost as ridiculous and girly as most other girls. I'd never look at her that way. Her words are so stupid that I don't even feel sorry for Annabeth for having to endure them because they are far from the truth_. As Tom listened to Annabeth's responses, Tom realized that Annabeth sincerely meant her words, even though he could detect a hint of jealousy. _Maybe she doesn't want me at all costs, but even she would be bothered if I held affection for someone else. Looks like she's not one of those 'perfect' girls who don't care if their crushes like someone else. She would be bothered too, like others_. For some reason, this fact delighted him. As Annabeth walked away, Tom followed. He pointed his wand at the Draught of Living Death flask in his hands.

"Trucido Liquoribus," Tom said, and then pointed at Annabeth's robes. He was sure the spell had worked, but he decided to test it once he got to Annabeth's final destination. She got there soon, and Tom hid behind a tree a little bit away as he watched Annabeth and his past self argue. He wished that his past self hadn't been so foolish as to try to force Annabeth to divulge information, but he hadn't known that Annabeth would be willing to kill herself to avoid having her mind read. Tom found a squirrel running, and he silenced and summoned it. He fed the squirrel the clear potion in his flask, and then gave it the antidote. The squirrel slowly but surely woke up, and Tom sighed in relief, knowing that his spell had worked. He turned back to his past self and Annabeth, and saw as Annabeth kissed him. He saw himself go rigid, before he responded. Tom smirked a little, remembering it. Then, he saw Annabeth take out the flask of the potion and drink it, oblivious to the switch. He watched as his past self caught Annabeth. Then, Tom remembered that his past self would try to use Legilimency on Annabeth. However, he had come up with a spell that would help clear his mind and make it completely blank. He used it to get rid of dreams since it worked better than dreamless potions, and he was sure that it would work for Annabeth.

"Constare Mentis," Tom thought wordlessly, hoping it would work. It would be even more complicated if he messed up this time. However, Tom saw his past self read Annabeth's mind, and then let go of her, surprised. It worked. Tom then saw Irina come up from behind him, saw his past self bury Annabeth with leaves, and eventually saw the two leave. Tom waited until he was sure that they were gone before he approached Annabeth and brushed the leaves off of her tenderly. He took out the flask with the deep blue liquid in it and tipped its contents into Annabeth's mouth. Tom then waited. Slowly, Annabeth opened her eyes.

"What - what's happening? Why am I awake?" she asked, but Tom was so glad that Annabeth was alive that he acted on instinct for the first time in his life. He pulled her up so that she was sitting, and he kissed her. A shocked Annabeth responded for a second before she realized what was going on, and pulled away.


	42. Chapter 41

Annabeth pushed Tom away, bewildered at the fact that she was awake. She was sure that she had brewed the poision correctly; she had done it herself, was positive that she had looked at the right recipe, and the potion was clear as water as it was supposed to be when it was finished. The poision worked pretty quickly, too, so when Annabeth lost consciousness she didn't expect to wake up.

"Why am I awake?" she asked Tom. Tom smirked as usual, but there was a trace of something serious in his expression.

"I used a variation of the switching spell to switch the potions. You actually took Draught of the Living Death." Annabeth groaned in exasperation. But wait a second. Tom would've have had to have Draught of Living Death with him. Why did he have it with him? And no spell I know of can switch liquids without the bottles switching places, which I would've noticed, so then what happened?

"Why did you have that potion with you? And I've never heard of a spell like the one you told me about just now." Annabeth saw something shift in Tom's expression. "Tom, I want you to be honest with me." Tom was quiet for a while, and then he took a deep breath.

"Alright. Well, when you...died...then I realized that you were right about one thing. I can't do everything alone. And...well...I know you well, and you're the main person who's company I can stand to be in for long. So I decided that letting you stay dead would be a waste, and I decided to go back in time to save you." Annabeth held back a sigh. She was hoping for more, hoping for him to admit that he had feelings, but she knew that it was a foolish thought. Her mind did have an overactive imagination. But of course Tom would be thinking of his own gain. While she had to admit that Tom was probably friends with her for as long as he had been for more reasons than his own personal gain, she couldn't help but think that he always looked for it in everything he did. Of course, Annabeth reminded herself, Tom may not want to admit that he simply and purely missed his friend. She had seen Tom act quite charmingly towards girls even when he despised them, but it seemed as if he'd pretend that he only cared about personal gain towards the people he knew well. Tom seemed determined not to let anyone know his true feelings and emotions towards them, whether they be good or bad. Tom continued, though, interrupting her tirade of thoughts.

"I also had time to think, though, and I realize that I had acted rashly in trying to break into your mind like that. I shouldn't have let my curiosity about myself get the best of me, but I did, and for that I apologize. I regretted it, for I would never have imagined that you would do something like this. Will you forgive me?" Tom asked gently. Annabeth heart swelled, and she wanted to believe him more than anything. However, she decided to think things through for once. After all, the last time she made a decision involving Tom resulted in him trying to break into her mind. She thought it through, and the logical thing was to walk away. But Annabeth's emotions got the better of her, and she forgave him.

"It's okay," she told Tom with a smile, even as the rational part of her brain was recoiling in shock. _After all that he's put you through, you still forgave him_? But Annabeth was firm with her resolve. _Yes_.

"Good," he replied. "Now let's go."

"Go? Go where?" Annabeth asked. Then it hit her. Of course. They were going back to the school.

"Away from the school," Tom stated. Seeing the shocked look on Annabeth's face, Tom laughed and elaborated. "If you go back to the school, then the me of the past won't go back in time to save you, and there'll be a paradox." Annabeth nodded with understanding. Tom took Annabeth's hand, pulled her up, and held on to it.

"Where'll we go?" Annabeth asked.

"I made myself a little shelter near a park," he said. "We could stay there until we've figured out other arrangements."

"I could try to find work," Annabeth said suddenly. "It wouldn't have to be an amazing job, just one that would work."

"Um, Annabeth?" Tom said in a tone that clearly insinuated that he doubted her intelligence. "There's one problem; you're supposed to be missing, so it would be strange if you were out in public working. People would find out, including me, and -"

"- That would create a paradox," Annabeth finished, cutting him off. "I know Tom, I'm not stupid. Honestly, what do you think of me? Wait, don't answer that. It was a rhetorical question. I was actually thinking of disguising myself. That jokebook you gave me has some of the best spells for changing appearances. It's hard to make yourself look like another person exactly, but that's what Polyjuice Potion's for. Hold on, don't move, and don't peek." Annabeth went behind a tree and casted some spells. She looked at her hair, which was now platunim-blonde and in huge voluminus curls. She looked at her hands, which were now pale, and was sure that they matched the rest of her skin. She saw that she wasn't as slim anymore. She felt her nose, which seemed smaller and sharper. Her lips felt full and plump. Annabeth conjured a pair of glasses and put them on. _There_, Annabeth thought. _That just about covers it_. Annabeth then faced Tom. She felt his gaze on her, looking her over with a critical eye, and Annabeth suddenly blushed, wondering what he thought, hoping that he liked her original looks better. Tom raised an eyebrow, but just nodded.

"Good enough," he said. "Come on." They turned on the spot and Disapparated, reappearing in a lush green park. Tom walked around in a circle, casting spells silently around the area. Annabeth surveyed the area. It's pretty. She then conjured a tent, and went inside it. It was quite spacious on the inside, despite its appearance on the outside. Then she realized something.

"Tom, you said that you made yourself this shelter. Did you make this when you were in school, or after?"

"After," Tom said.

"But then that means that you apparated across the country!" Tom was momentarily surprised, but then his face became expressionless again.

"Well, we need to," he explained. "I need to be able to conjure a form of you so that my past self can actually talk to it when he turns over the Resurrection Stone. Since you're not actually dead, my past self can't actually talk to 'you'." Annabeth remembered reading about the Resurrection Stone in the last Harry Potter book, and knew how it worked. She realized what Tom was talking about. Annabeth also thought about finding work, and hoped that she could find something quickly. They needed money for atleast food, for Annabeth couldn't survive on grass and berries, and she refused to kill and cook her own meat - or see Tom do it, for that matter.

"Hey Tom, you should also try to get a job. I'll change your appearance for you." Tom pretended to protest, but didn't really try too hard, because Annabeth succeeded in changing Tom's appearance.

"How bad did you change me?" Tom groaned.

"Not too badly," Annabeth teased. But, Annabeth thought, Tom didn't look bad at all. His hair too was blond, but his skin was a little tanner so that he wasn't alabaster pale. His eyes were a deep, beautiful blue. His face was a bit longer, his features were shaped differently. Tom looked completely different, but he still looked good. Tom conjured a mirror and looked in it. His face, though, contorted into a scowl.

"I look too ordinary. But I suppose I'll have to deal with it for a couple of months. Will it wear off?"

"Only if we cast spells to make it wear off. That's another thing that makes this better than Polyjuice Potion. But you look good." Annabeth then grabbed the mirror from Tom, and saw what he meant. She herself looked like a typical pretty blonde. She did look pretty, but she missed her own looks. "Now where should we try to find work? Not Borgin and Burkes Tom," she stated. Tom looked surprised, but then seemed to remember how she knew about his plans.

"Should we both work at the same place?" Tom asked.

"Why not?" Annabeth asked. "Come on, let's go." Annabeth grabbed Tom's hand. They both Apparated to Diagon Alley, and then walked to Flourish and Blotts. Tom walked in first, and Annabeth followed. The person at the counter was a kind, middle-aged woman. She smiled at the two of them.

"What can I do for you?" she asked.

"Well Miss," Tom started. "We were looking for a job. Our parents just died, and we need to support our younger brother. Do you think that you could let us work for you?" Annabeth nearly gagged at the fakeness that Tom was putting into his voice, but she had to admit that it was pretty convincing. Annabeth put on her best sad expression. Annabeth saw the woman melt instantly.

"Oh my poor dears! How unfortunate! Well, I could always use extra help. You're hired." Annabeth felt guilty lying to the lady like that. _She seems so nice_, Annabeth thought. But Annabeth was still glad for getting the job. "You can start working today."

Tom and Annabeth worked at Flourish and Blotts. Annabeth enjoyed working amongst the books, and the woman paid them their first wages that very day, which was fortunate since they could now buy food. The days continued like this, but there were often awkward silences between the two. Annabeth wondered what to do. One day, Tom asked Annabeth something.

"Hey Annabeth, could you tell Mrs. Rios that we won't be at work today? Tell her that our 'brother' fell sick, whatever. We need to go. Today is the day that I visit my uncle's house." Annabeth's heart sped up, eager to see what had happened.

**Hey guys! Sorry that I couldn't update! With the start of school, things have just been so busy, and I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I'm not sure where I want to go with the story after filling plot holes like the one with the Resurrection Stone. Could you guys please give me some suggestions? I may or may not put them to vote, but I might see something that I like. Please help me!**


	43. Chapter 42

Tom Apparated himself and Annabeth to a spot some distance from his uncle's house so that his uncle wouldn't hear the telltale *pop* of apparation. He restored their original appearances, for he'd have to make Annabeth's ghost form look like the real her, and not the disguised her. And, if he was honest with himself, he hated the disguises and thought that Annabeth looked better as she was. As they walked to his uncle's shack, Tom looked over at Annabeth and thought back to the scene when she had woken up in his arms, replaying it many times in his mind unwillingly. He had replayed this many times over the last month. He couldn't help but remember his utter relief, his mental exclamation of _"ohmygod thank goodness she's alive"_ when she had opened her eyes. He couldn't help but replay the memory of him pulling Annabeth towards him and catching her lips in a kiss. He smirked wryly as he remembered the way Annabeth had pushed him away, utter shock clearly etched on her face. Tom cringed at his words to her, though, remembering his apology._ I shouldn't have let weakness overtake me. I shouldn't have admitted that I realized the rashness of my actions_, he mentally berated himself. _But it's okay. I would've needed that for her to fully trust me again. Or else she would've had her doubts and probably would be uncomfortable. I needed to do that to gain her trust. Besides, if I ever need to take it back, I can do so easily, because she'll believe me_, he thought, remembering the day he had disarmed her in the girl's bathroom and she had assumed that he would kill her._ If I deny that I was sorry about anything in the future, she doesn't seem like she'd question it. She doesn't take anything for granted or assume anything, so I can always take my words back if I have to without her holding my apology against me as a weakness. And of course, I don't have to do that right now. We're not fighting about anything. Right now, she's with me and we're at peace, and that's all that matters_. He felt a pang at Annabeth's cynicism, and his heart felt a little pain when he remembered that she was ready and willing to assume the worst about him, as she had shown in their fight in the bathroom. She had assumed that he would kill her when he had the upper hand, and she had accepted it, not even hoping for mercy from him, even though he was her best friend. But he shook himself out of his thoughts. _She's with me now_, he chanted like a mantra. _She forgave me, and she's with me. Alone. She trusts me, despite everything. That's all that matters_. Soon, there were at his uncle's shack. Tom grabbed Annabeth's hand and quietly pulled her to the side of the house, where there was a window. He dropped her hand slowly, almost reluctantly, not wanting to let go of her fingers, the feel of her warm hands on his ice-cold ones. Tom shook his head slightly, bringing his thoughts back to his surroundings. _I was standing near that window when I was talking to "Annabeth" before_, he remembered. Tom cast a Disillusionment charm on the two of them, and they waited until Tom's past self showed up at the door. Tom's past self blasted the door down with his wand, and Tom heard an extremely quiet laugh from beside him. His sharp ears picked up Annabeth's laugh, and he turned to her. Sure enough, he saw her hand over her mouth to stifle her sound, but her eyes were crinkled and they were sparkling, so he could tell that she was laughing. Because Tom had cast the Disillusionment charm over both of them, he and Annabeth could see each other. Annabeth watched the exchange between Tom's past self and his uncle take place, and she nodded thoughtfully, not surprised._ I suppose this exchange was covered in the book_, Tom scowled to himself. _I wonder what hasn't been covered in that dratted book that Annabeth read_.

"Okay, Annabeth. Now." Tom pointed his wand at Annabeth. "Spiritus forma," he muttered, and a ghost-like figure of Annabeth seemed to walk out from within her. "Now, she won't talk until you talk. She is an imitation of you, so she'll say exactly what you say," he whispered urgently and quickly. They only had a little time. The Tom inside the shack had grabbed the Resurrection Stone. "Step back behind the trees. I'll amplify the sounds in the shack, and then you'll have to respond. Respond naturally." Tom pointed his wand at Annabeth's ghost so that she disappeared and appeared right inside the shack in front of Tom instead of floating through the window. He then pointed his wand inside the shack. "Sonorus," he whispered, and he could hear the conversation loudly and clearly.

"What are you doing here?" Tom heard himself ask. He listened to the conversation, reminiscent of the time he himself was in there. _Although_, Tom thought wryly, _that is me in there_. Tom quietly crept back, not needing to be this close to the window since he remembered what the scene had looked like inside. He slowly crept closer to Annabeth, wanting to see her reaction to the conversation, although he was sure he could guess her expressions from what he remembered of the ghost's face.

"...I truly do love you and enjoy your company, and I miss you," he heard Annabeth say. Tom turned around and looked into Annabeth's eyes. _Her eyes are sparkling with tears_, he observed surprisedly, though he masked it perfectly. _I really do mean this much to her_. He realized then that Annabeth's ghost form was just that: a mere ghost of the real Annabeth. _Wow, when the ghost was talking, she came off as somewhat casual and nonchalant about her emotions for me and her friends, but listening to Annabeth's words, I realize just how much she feels. I can hear her emotions, love and pain, in her voice. Her every word is saturated with emotion_. Tom felt his heart beat faster at this, and he resisted putting his hand over his heart to calm it, dismissing the gesture as a weak one, especially with Annabeth so near him. _And... _Tom paused his thoughts, not sure if he wanted to continue and admit it, even to himself... _and after these past months, I realize that she's managed to perfectly voice my thoughts_. His stormy gray eyes widening slightly at the revelation, Tom turned to Annabeth again and met her dark chocolate brown eyes with his own. He could see many emotions swirling around in her eyes, all of the ones that he had heard in her voice and more. Almost as if on instinct, his right hand reached out, cupped her chin in his palm, and tilted her face up towards his. He heard Annabeth gasp, but it was a quiet, light gasp as opposed to a loud, cutting, sharp gasp.

"Even after everything?" Tom asked quietly, his disbelief in her unwavering love evident in his voice. _Then again, I never thought I'd love Annabeth, or anyone, but I do, he admitted. So I suppose anything could happen_. His mind backpedaled at his last thought though. _Wait, did I just say that I loved her? It can't actually be love, can it?_ But the facts all pointed in one direction. _She's the only person I actually wanted to be around and would willingly be around for no other reason than because I enjoy it. I genuinely care for her, Tom admitted, and despite some of my past actions towards her, these past months made me see that I'll do whatever is in my power to avoid losing her_. Annabeth's voice brought him out of his reverie, knowing exactly what Tom was asking without further explanation.

"Yes Tom. I've known the worst of you for years, but I also know the best of you. It's this combination that makes you who you are as a person, and this is the person I'm in love with. You." Tom leaned down and closed the gap between them as he caught her lips in a passionate kiss. He took his free hand, placed it on her back, and pulled her towards him. He felt her wrap her arms around his neck, leaving no space between their bodies. Tom was content. _This feels so right_, he thought, not trying to deny his thoughts anymore. _It's perfect_. He broke off, breathing more heavily.

"I love you too," he replied, before leaning in and kissing her again. He felt the way her lips moved in response to his and the way her body molded against him. He felt her tangle her hands in his hair, and he moved to do the same. He planted softer kisses on her jaw and down her neck, and placed one final kiss at the spot between her neck and her right shoulder. He leaned back, stood up, and reached out his hand. Annabeth grabbed it and stood up. "Let's go," Tom said. They walked until they got to the spot from where they would Disapparate. Tom saw Annabeth looking off into the distance though, and he followed her gaze until it met an unwelcome sight. Tom's stomach sunk slightly at the sight of the Riddle Manor, churning uncomfortably at the memories of who Tom had met there.

"What did you do to them Tom?" Annabeth asked quietly yet clearly. Tom picked up on her apprehension and nervousness at the question, however. He sighed.

"Exactly what they deserved," he nodded, satisfied. When he saw Annabeth blanch, though, he laughed mirthlessly. "I followed your advice, Annabeth. I saw the pain in my father's eyes as his own father abandoned his mother and him, and I felt such immense satisfaction. You were right, I could never have gotten this satisfaction by simply giving them a painless 'Avada Kedavra', and even the 'Cruciatus' wouldn't have been enough." As Tom said those words, he realized the truth of them. He realized that a weight had been lifted off of his chest, and when he thought of Muggles and Muggleborns, he felt none of the hatred that had plagued his heart earlier. _I mean, it is a pity that Muggles are so narrow-minded about magic and jump to the conclusion that it's evil, but that's their problem. That's the only disdain I feel for them. And as for Muggleborns... why did I hate them? I mean, they seem to accept magic, and are probably the most open-minded people, accepting both worlds_. It hit him then. _My hatred for my Muggle father who had abandoned my witch mother had boiled over to include all Muggles and Muggleborns, everyone with no magical blood. Annabeth tried explaining it to me before, but I never listened_. Tom cringed, not willing to go on, not wanting to admit the biggest mistake of his life. But his mind plowed on nonetheless. This mistake nearly cost me her. _And I have already taken an innocent life_... Tom trailed off, thinking of Myrtle. _She may have been irritating, but she... _Tom took a deep, shaky breath. _She didn't deserve death. I'm sorry for taking away your right to live, Myrtle_. Tom took a step and doubled over in pain. He bit his lip hard to hold back a scream, and tasted the telltale metallic liquid that a part of his mind registered as his own blood. The rest of his mind, however, was preoccupied with the intense pain that seemed to originate from within his core and shoot throughout his body.

"Tom!" he heard Annabeth cry as she grabbed him, holding him to her and rubbing his back as if to calm him. But Tom barely noticed anything, and Annabeth's attempts to ease his pain weren't working. The pain kept building and building, until finally it exploded within him. At the same time, Tom saw himself surrounded by a bright flash of light, and he saw an outline come towards him. Right before the outline touched him, Tom was able to make it out. It's...it's me, Tom thought faintly with his remaining consciousness, until the outline seemed to go right through him. At that moment, for the first time in his life, Tom Marvolo Riddle fainted.

A while later, Tom came to. He sat up, and his head spun a little from the sudden movement. He saw Annabeth sigh in relief, and thought he saw a hint of a smile on her face, the corners of her lips twisting upward slightly.

"Thank goodness you're okay," she said, placing one hand on his back and the other on his shoulder to help support him.

"What - what just happened?" Tom asked, though he doubted that Annabeth knew the answer any better than he did.

"I'm not sure, but I did see something, a faint outline of you, come towards you and...it was as if it became one with you. I have a theory, but... hey Tom, what were you thinking about before this happened?" Tom hesitated for a second before he replied.

"I was just thinking of how satisfied I was with the punishment I gave my _father_," he stated, nearly hissing the last word. At Annabeth's expression, he kept going. "And - and I realized that with that satisfaction, I didn't really hate Muggles and Muggleborns anymore. I mean, a lot of Muggles are still stupid, but I don't feel towards them the way I used to. Then I was just thinking of the scene in the girl's bathroom." Annabeth nodded, apparently needing no further explanation. "But why?" Tom asked Annabeth. "Do you know something?"

"Do you have your diary with you by any chance?" Annabeth asked. Tom pulled out his diary from a pocket in his robes, baffled.

"What's the diary got to do with anything?" he inquired. Annabeth took the diary from his hands wordlessly and opened it. Using her wand, she cut herself a little and let a drop of her blood fall onto the page. The drop of blood splattered onto the page, but it didn't disappear. Tom didn't hold back a gasp when he saw the sight. _My - my diary is no longer -_

"Your diary is no longer a Horcrux, Tom. Your soul is whole again." Annabeth smiled.

"But... but how? I didn't think this was reversible!" Tom said surprisedly.

"It's hard, immensely hard, but it's possible," Annabeth responded. "For it to happen though, the creator of the Horcrux has got to feel remorse for his actions, remorse for the life he took to split his soul. Only when there's remorse can the soul be repaired and whole again." Tom thought about it and realized that it made sense. _So it was all for naught? My attempts at immortality?_ As if Annabeth could read his mind, she lightly squeezed his hand and shook her head slightly.

"Tom, don't worry about the future. You never know how the future will turn out, and immortality won't guarantee happiness. Life is too unpredictable for that." Tom could hear the pain in her voice, and briefly wondered again what turn of events in his life caused Annabeth to say all of this. "Just worry about the here and now. As long as you're happy now, it's enough with life." Annabeth took a deep, nervous breath and asked, "Are you happy now?" Tom didn't have to think about his answer.

"Yes I am," Tom replied firmly. He stood up, pulling Annabeth up with him. He turned his back on the Riddle Manor, on Little Hangleton, turned his back on what could've been, and they walked away. "I have you with me, and I'm happy, and that's all I need right now."


	44. Chapter 44

**Hey guys, to my previous readers, I am rewriting this story. I was reading it, and realized that there was a lot I found unsatisfactory with my writing, so I am rewriting it and posting it as a separate story on my profile. Feel free to check it out! I will be changing the ending, which I feel is more satisfactory. Please tell me what you think, if you like my new version better than the old. To avoid duplication issues, I also had to change the name of my OC. Happy reading! **


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